A Ranger Retreat
by A Warrior's Prophet
Summary: Eric Myers has planned a surprise weekend get-away for his lover’s birthday.  What does he have in store for Tommy and could it be that Tommy has a surprise for Eric?  SLASH, Adult situations and language.
1. Weekend Rendezvous

**A Ranger Retreat**

**by**

**A Warrior's Prophet**

**Disclaimers****: **Power Rangers and its characters are owned by Saban/Disney. We make no claim to them nor make any money from the writings of these stories. We're just playing in someone else's sandbox.

**Summary****: **Eric Myers has planned a surprise weekend get-away for his lover's birthday. What does he have in store for Tommy and could it be that Tommy has a surprise for Eric? SLASH. A little warning: If you are not comfortable with serious male/male sexual situations, adult language, and just a little kink—hit that 'Back' button now! You have been warned! We find this version to be rather tame, but if you'd like to read the more explicit one, please check it out on World of Slash (once it's posted).

**Author's Notes****: **This little story started off as a one-shot in honor of Jason David Frank's birthday on September 4th, which is sorta strange considering he's completely straight, but slash is what we write, so...here ya go! It has now grown to the status of a short story and could possibly be expanded further, depending on how much positive reaction we receive (aka--reviews people!) So if you enjoy it and would like to see it continue, please let us know!

Eric parked his SUV next to Tommy's jeep and climbed out. Grinning, he walked into the school and by the office. He nodded at Principal Randall, who grinned at him and waved him on, giving him permission to carry out his plan.

As he turned down the Science hall, he mentally went over his checklist. He really hoped that he hadn't forgotten anything because he wanted this weekend to be perfect. Once he got to Tommy's classroom, he waited outside the door for the last bell of the day to ring. While he had a few minutes, he continued to take stock of what he'd packed for himself and for Tommy and tried to remember whether or not he'd finished all the arrangements. When he started planning this surprise, he had no idea there were so many details to take care of.

When the bell finally sounded, the Quantum Ranger stood back and let the kids go by, returning the smiles from the girls who checked him out as he stood there. The room finally empty except for the teacher, Eric casually leaned against the door frame with his arms folded across his chest, waiting for his lover to notice him.

Tommy sighed and took off his glasses as the last of his students left. Laying them down on his desk, he rubbed his eyes before lowering his head slightly to massage his neck. The tension of the day was giving him a crick in the neck as he continually had to repeat the instructions for the project and answer the questions of his students.

Figuring that he wasn't going to look up any time soon, Eric stealthily crept up behind Tommy and slowly began to massage the man's stiff shoulders and neck. The teacher jumped when he felt the large, strong hands on his body, but before he could react, he heard Eric's voice coming from behind him.

"Hey there," he said in a low, sensual voice. "Rough day?"

Tommy smiled softly and let the stiffness caused by his lover's surprise ebb from his body. "Yeah, they weren't too happy about the projects I gave them--lot of complaining and questions." He winced slightly when Eric hit a particularly tight spot, then sighed when it was worked loose. "Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing here? You usually don't come to the school unless you're bringing me lunch or something I forgot at home."

"Well...it's kind of a surprise. You ready to leave?" Eric asked, continuing to rub Tom's upper back.

"As soon as I pack up my briefcase. Thankfully, I don't have to do any grading this weekend and next week's lesson plans are already done."

"That's really good to hear, because you're gonna be too busy this weekend to even think about school," the older man said. "Now get yourself together and let's go. Oh, and I need the keys to your jeep."

Tommy raised an eyebrow, but handed him the keys. "Why do you need the keys to my jeep?" He started packing up his things and putting them into his briefcase.

"Because you're not going to be driving it and it has to get itself home somehow," he said cryptically, but then had to laugh at Tommy's expression. "Come on...you'll understand once we get outside."

After the former black ranger had finished getting his things together, the couple walked toward the parking lot with Tommy still questioning his lover. "What have you got up your sleeve, Mr. Myers? I know that look, you're planning something, aren't you?"

Eric chuckled. "I'm always up to something, you know that. But like I said, you'll understand more once we get to the parking lot."

Tommy gave him a frustrated look. "I swear, you just won't do. I--" He was cut off by his cell phone ringing. "Hello?--Oh, hey Jase.--Thanks.--I don't know, he won't tell me. I'm pretty sure he's got something planned, but right now, I'm in the dark.--Okay, I'll let you know.--Thanks, man.--Later." He hung up with that.

"Jase?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, he just called to wish me a happy birthday and to see what we were up to this weekend," Tommy answered. "And considering not even _I_ know what we're doing, it's kind of hard for me to tell him anything." He playfully pushed Eric away. "So any hints?"

The Silver Guardian commander looked up at the ceiling as if in thought. "Ummm....no," he said at last and gave Tommy a wink. "You'll just have to wait, Dr. Oliver."

The good doctor snorted. "Keep it up and you'll be waiting 'til certain things turn blue."

"Don't even threaten me with that, Tom. You know as well as I do that neither of us can go more than three days without. No matter how hard you try to be mad at me, within 72 hours you'll be wrapped around my legs, begging..."

"Me? Beg?" Eric shot him a look, causing him to hold his hands up in surrender. "All right, all right. Fine. I won't ask any more questions about where we're going, but what are you doing with my jeep?"

Just then they came to the end of the hallway and as they exited the building, Tommy could see two familiar figures leaning against his jeep waiting for them. He looked over at Eric questioningly, but didn't bother to say anything as his lover just had a big grin on his face.

"They're gonna drive it to the house for us so that we can go ahead and get on the road."

"Fine, but Connor doesn't drive. I've seen how he handles his Mustang. Trent can drive it."

"Whatever you say. Your stuff's already in the Hummer, by the way," he added with a mischievous grin. As they reached the cars, Eric tossed Tommy's keys to Trent. "He says you have permission to drive the jeep to the house, but you have to be careful," he said to Trent with a chuckle.

Trent laughed softly at Connor's indignant huff. "I'll be careful with it, I promise. You two have fun." He grinned at his former teacher. "Happy Birthday, Dr. O."

"Thanks Trent."

"That's okay, I'd rather drive the Hummer anyway. Whaddya say, Eric? Hmm?" Connor asked, attempting to give the commander a pitiful look.

Tommy couldn't help it, he burst out laughing at the look on Eric's face. "Trent, I think you two had better leave before Cmdr. Myers here decides to go ballistic on a fellow Red."

"Alright, alright...damn, just askin'," Connor said as he turned to get into his Mustang. "Oh and have a good birthday, Dr. O. Hope you two have a good time!" With that, he closed the door and he and Trent pulled away, headed for the house on Valencia Road that they knew so well.

Tommy turned to Eric as they left. "So, you packed for me, huh? You really planned this out, didn't you?"

Eric snorted. "When have you ever known me to leave anything to chance?" Walking over to the passenger side, he held the door open. "If you'll get in, we'll get on the road."

Tom smiled at his lover and went over to the door. Putting his briefcase in, he turned back and quickly surveyed the parking lot--all was clear. Taking Eric by the lapels of his leather jacket, Tommy grinned and then pulled him into his chest, nuzzling his ear for a moment. "Whatever it is that you've got planned, I'm sure I'll love it. Thank you," he whispered and then gently placed a soft kiss on his boyfriend's lips.

Eric put his arms around Tommy, holding him close. "I want you to have the best birthday you've ever had." He returned the kiss, letting it deepen slightly before he pulled back and rested his forehead against Tommy's. "I love you."

The former black ranger smiled broadly. "I love you too. Now, you ready to get going so that you can put this sneaky, covert plan of yours into action?"

"Just waiting for you to get into the Hummer." He stepped back, swatting his lover on the butt as he started around for the other side.

As they reached the outskirts of town, Tommy patiently waited to see which highway Eric was going to take so that he could make a guess at where they were actually headed. When he turned onto the freeway headed east, Tom figured that they must be going toward the mountains. The coast was west from Reefside. "So...gonna tell me where we're headed now? I know it's got to be in the mountains."

"I thought you weren't going to ask any more questions about where we were headed as long as I told you what was going on with your jeep?" Eric reached a hand out, resting it on the multi-colored ranger's leg.

"Determined to make this a surprise, huh? Okay, I'll try to keep my natural curiosity at bay." He placed his hand over Eric's and rubbed it gently. "So, if we can't talk about this surprise of yours, what are we gonna do to pass the time? However much time that is..."

Eric turned his hand up, catching hold of his lover's. "Just try to relax. I know you're not fond of surprises, but I promise, you'll like this one." He let go of Tom's hand and started running his hand along the cloth-covered thigh.

Tommy smiled at him. "I place myself in your capable hands--I trust you." He reached over and rubbed the back of Eric's neck, playing with his short, dark hair. "After the week I've had, I could use a good time," he sighed and shook his head. "Those kids are gonna make me gray before my time." Just as he was about to continue, his cell phone alerted him that he had a new text message. Pulling it out of its holder on his belt, Tommy looked at the display. "Rocky," he said. "Wishing me a happy birthday and telling us to have a good time and not to do anything he wouldn't."

Eric laughed softly. "Don't think there's much that man wouldn't do, so that's saying a lot." He gently squeezed T's leg. "Don't think about the kids for the weekend, huh?"

Tommy grinned. "That's true! Rocky's a real piece of work. As for the kids, I am putting them out of my mind as of now. No one on my mind but you...all weekend."

"Excellent. Now, why don't you close your eyes and rest for a bit. I know you didn't get a lot of sleep last night and you'll need the energy for later."

Flashing a wicked grin at Eric, Tommy replied, "Oh really? And just what did you have in mind? Gonna ravish me and leave me begging for more? I hope," he winked and raised his eyebrows.

"I was thinking that maybe we could work on a couple of those fantasies of yours."

Tommy's eyes brightened. "Ooh, which ones did you have in mind?"

"How about the one where I tie you spread eagle on the bed and make you watch as I slowly strip down to nothing." He lowered his voice as he spoke. "Then make you beg for me to take you as I slowly touch, stroke, lick, suck, and bite you anywhere and everywhere but that throbbing piece of velvet-covered steel."

"Mmmmm, that sounds incredible. We can definitely do that!" Tommy felt a reaction in a certain part of his anatomy as he thought more about that. "And I just might have some surprises up my sleeve for you as well." He paused for a minute. "So how much longer is it gonna take to get there? I can't wait to get you alone."

"Couple of hours, but I figure that we'll stop and get something light to eat. We'll have a real dinner when we get there." He grinned as he thought about the steaks, loaded baked potatoes, corn and chocolate mousse that waited for them at their destination. A bottle of wine was already chilling while a fire would be started shortly so that the cabin was warm for them by the time they finally arrived. The hot tub would even be turned on so that it was nice and warm as well. "And we'll be alone all weekend. Anything we want to do is pretty much fair game."

"Really? Sounds wonderful--can't wait to get there. Maybe you're right; maybe I should try to take a bit of a nap before we get there. I have a feeling that I'm gonna need all my strength," he said with a wink and a grin.

"Oh, that's for sure." Eric reached into the back seat and pulled up a travel pillow and throw, then handed them to Tommy. "Figured you could use these to get comfortable with."

Shaking his head and grinning at the attention to detail that his boyfriend had put into this weekend, Tom took them and proceeded to get comfortable. "Don't let me sleep too long, okay? I don't want to miss anything."

Eric reached his hand out and put it on the back of his lover's neck, rubbing his thumb against the warm skin. "I promise, you're not going to miss anything. When we're close to stopping for something to eat, I'll wake you. After that, it'll be a short drive, about half an hour." He really needed the stop to call the lodge and have them put their dinner on and then have it sent up to the cabin. If he timed everything right, the food would still be hot and waiting for them when they got there.

An hour and forty-five minutes later, the two men were very close to reaching their destination. Eric had made sure that everything was in the works and ready for their arrival. The light snack they had stopped for would hold them over until dinner and the cabin should be ready by now. As they drove along high up in the mountains, the snow was falling steadily and thick all around them. Good thing Eric was accustomed to driving in all kinds of conditions. For the last half hour, they had been listening to a CD that he had made of all of Tommy's favorite music. If everything came together as planned, this would be a weekend to remember--just what Eric believed that his boyfriend, lover, and soul mate deserved.

As they crested a final hill, Eric pulled forward a bit before coming to a stop. The scene that was laid out before them was beautiful. Snow covered peaks and pines dotted the landscape. A few cabins were barely visible in the trees. Their snow topped roofs adding to the picturesque view. He looked over at Tommy, laying a gentle hand once again on the back of his neck. "Do you like it?"

A warm smile broke out across the former ranger commander's face. "Oh wow...it's amazing. Looks like a postcard, doesn't it?" He paused and continued to study the scene. "We're staying in one of those cabins?"

"That we are." He pulled Tommy closer and gently kissed him. "Happy Birthday."

Tommy smiled warmly. "I know it's gonna be a special one--I can just tell." He looked up the drive just a bit and spotted a huge building that was partially hidden by the trees. "That must be the main lodge up ahead. Let's go--I can't wait to see it!"

Eric drove forward and came to a stop near the front door. As they climbed out of the Hummer, a valet came over and took the keys while bell services handled getting their bags from the back. Eric tipped them and then casually put an arm around T's waist as they headed inside. At Tommy's somewhat surprised look at the public display of affection, Eric said, "Don't worry--it's a 'gay-friendly' resort. We don't have to pretend to be best friends up here," the former Quantum Ranger said with a smile and a wink. They normally had to be very careful in public--Tom's job could depend on it.

But here, they could be themselves and actually act like a couple. Tommy caught his breath as they entered the main lodge. It was reminiscent of the old National Park lodges--made of what looked to be redwoods and stone, the lobby was cavernous and well-appointed. Leather sofas, chairs, and beautifully hand-crafted wooden furniture sat around the room in small intimate conversation areas. The focus of the room was the huge stone fireplace that sat in one corner with a grouping of chairs around the front of it. The building was made to look as though it had been there for a hundred years, but judging by the shine on the hardwood floors and the modern conveniences, it couldn't be more than ten.

Eric chuckled softly and grinned at him. "I take it you like what you see so far?" He pulled Tommy closer, then moved toward the check-in desk. "Reservation for Myers."

"It's amazing. How'd you find out about this place?" Tommy asked, leaning gently against his lover.

"Would you believe me if I told you that Jason turned me on to it?"

"Really? Has he been up here?"

"I don't think he would have recommended it like he did if he hadn't. Although, if you want details, you'll have to ask him yourself." He turned to the clerk, who just handed him a key with a grin.

"Your bags are already on the way to your cabin, Mr. Myers. If you want to walk, there's a path off to the side of the main lodge that will take you through the trees to your cabin. As requested, it's the last one in the row. It's less than a half mile and everything you requested has already been arranged and taken care of."

Tommy thought to himself, _'I wonder if Jase has brought Adam up here.'_ He was shaken from his thoughts by Eric pulling him along as they headed for another door that would put them on the path to their own little cabin hideaway. As they stepped outside, Tom got his first good blast of cold, mountain air. "Whew, I hope you packed my warm clothes and coat!"

"I did, but someone else was the one to suggest that. Said that while Jase may be a heater, for those that aren't, warm clothes, a coat and gloves might be needed." He pulled Tommy closer. "I'm glad you like it. Have to admit, it made me jealous at first that Jason was the one suggesting that I bring you here. He said that he knew you'd like it."

"Eric...Jase and I have known each other forever. No one knows me better than he does--even me. What we had together was nice while it lasted, but we decided that we were better off as best friends, you know that. Nothing for you to be jealous of, I promise." Tommy leaned over and planted a kiss on Eric's cheek. "Promise me you won't worry about that," he whispered. "I'm with you because that's what I want--_you're_ what I want, okay?"

Eric stopped and pulled him closer. "I promise." He leaned in and kissed him, letting his tongue gently part the soft lips and slip inside.

Since there was no one in sight, the former White Ranger allowed the kiss to continue and even deepen as he relaxed into Eric's embrace. As they parted for air a couple of minutes later, another all-male couple walked by hand in hand and smiled at them. It was an odd feeling to be doing that out in public, but something that they could definitely get used to.

"Let's get inside, it's cold out here," Tommy said. He was still in his dress shirt, slacks, and light jacket from school--not exactly winter weather wear.

Eric nodded. "Considering what else I want to do to you tonight, then yeah, we should get inside." He took his hand once again and started along the path to their cabin. "Besides, don't want dinner to get cold."

Tom followed along. "We're having dinner in the cabin? I figured they had a big, fancy restaurant hidden away in that lodge somewhere."

"They do, but that's something for tomorrow night. Tonight, I want you all to myself, no outside distractions. Just you, me... a warm fire... dinner for two with a nice bottle of wine... dessert in the hot tub."

"Mmmm...I can't wait. Come on," Tommy said with a big grin and took the lead, this time pulling Eric along as they made their way down the path. "Last one in the row the lady said, right?"

"Yep." He laughed softly as he picked up his pace to catch up with the former white ranger.

When they finally reached their home away from home, at least for the weekend, Tommy turned to his lover. "Gonna carry me over the threshold, big boy?" he laughed and moved out of the way so that Eric could unlock the door.

Eric put the key in the lock, then without warning, picked Tommy up and carried him inside. "You were saying?" Shutting the door with his foot, he carried Tom over to the couch and laid him down, then kissed him softly.

Tommy tried to control his laughter so as not to break the kiss, but it was no use. Being hauled inside like that was such a surprise that he couldn't help but laugh. "You are so crazy, you know that?" he said softly as he caressed Eric's cheek with one hand and his side with the other. Once he had his giggles under control, he reached up and captured his boyfriend's full lips with his own, eventually nibbling and sucking at his bottom lip.

Eric moaned softly. "We need to eat dinner. Otherwise someone," he tickled his lover gently, "will interrupt us later with a growling stomach."

Tommy laughed and tried to tickle Eric in return, but couldn't reach him very well. "Okay, let's eat and then we'll see what else we can get into." Tommy pushed himself up from the couch and followed Eric over to the dining table. "Mmmm, this all looks so good."

"Figured we'd eat here tonight and then tomorrow go to the restaurant and since we'll know what to expect, maybe take a walk after dinner. Tonight however," he popped the cork on the wine and poured them both a glass, "I think we need to eat, relax in the hot tub with the dessert that's waiting for us out there and see what mischief we can get into."

Tommy looked up at his boyfriend as he was pouring the wine. "You're all the dessert I need. Quit fussing over stuff and sit down."

Once Eric had complied, he picked up his wine glass and proposed a toast to his lover. "To you, the one I love--may your birthday be a wonderful one and may you have many, many more to come."

Tom smiled warmly as they clinked their glasses together and drank to his birthday. "This is great, Eric. Thank you so much."

He grinned at him. "You're welcome, and I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself so far." Winking at the man across from him, he grinned before starting to eat.

The dinner was wonderful, the steaks were cooked just right and everything was still hot. The wine paired up with the food perfectly. "I can't wait to see what's for dessert," Tommy said as they finished eating.

"That's waiting out by the hot tub." He stood up and walked over to Tom, holding out his hand. "So we can eat it now, or in a little bit. Either way, I think a soak would be great."

Helping his lover stand up, he wrapped his arms around his waist before leaning in and kissing him. It started out gentle before he asked for entrance into Tommy's mouth and when it was granted, he started relearning the contours of that warm cavern.

As the kiss continued, Tom reached down and began to pull Eric's shirt free from his jeans. Once he had access, he ran his large hands around the bare waist, drinking in the sensation of warm, smooth skin.

Eric broke the kiss long enough to remove his shirt and toss it to the floor before moving back in and taking possession of Tommy's mouth once again. His hands were no longer idle as he started undoing the buttons on the good doctor's shirt. Once they were all undone, he pulled the shirt out of his pants then ran his hands up the muscled stomach. One hand continued up to pinch and roll a nipple, feeling it harden beneath his fingers as the other sought out the small of his lover's back, pulling him closer.

Tommy moaned into Eric's mouth, the vibrations beginning in his chest and working their way up. As they were pressed together, Tom's boyfriend felt it as much as heard it. When he began unbuttoning and unzipping Eric's jeans, they released each other's mouths for a bit, nipping and kissing necks, shoulders, and collarbones. Tommy's hands ran around the open waistband and down into his lover's boxers, firmly grasping the taut globes. "You have such a nice ass," he breathed into Eric's ear.

Moaning softly and thrusting his hips forward, Eric nipped lightly at the spot on Tommy's neck, then suckled gently for a few moments. His hands moved down, returning the favor of undoing Tommy's pants. He slid his hand into the boxers, taking a light hold on his lover's hardened shaft. "Mmmm, I know something of yours that's pretty nice."

Tommy's head immediately fell backwards as he gently thrust forward, holding onto Eric's back and pulling them closer together. After a few moments of this, Tommy moaned, "Eric...I want you so bad...I don't know if we're gonna make it to the hot tub." His hands started grasping his lover's skin instead of rubbing it as his desire grew by leaps and bounds.

"That's fine, the table works for me," Eric said with a wicked grin. Making Tommy back up a couple of steps, he used his arm to make room on one part of the table before pulling Tom's shirt off of him. "Give or take?" He pulled a tube of lube out of his pocket even as he began to stroke his lover softly, twisting slightly at the top before rubbing his thumb over the slit.

Breathing heavily, Tommy groaned out, "Take--you take me first," and worked Eric's jeans down off his hips, grasping the steel rod that he had uncovered.

Eric opened the lube and put some on his fingers before capturing Tommy's mouth again, thrusting inside hungrily as he eased a slick finger into his lover to prepare him. He slowly slid inside and began moving in time with the thrusts of his tongue, adding a second and then a third finger while his other hand quickened the strokes he was making on his lover's shaft.

Tommy groaned softly, his hips starting to thrust in time with Eric's movements, but he reached out a hand and stopped the Quantum Ranger. "Together..." He locked eyes with the man before leaning in and kissing him hungrily, devouring his mouth as he shoved his own pants down and stepped out of them, taking his shoes and boxers with them.

Grinning, Eric removed his fingers before lifting his lover onto the table, forcing him to lay back. While he applied more of the lube to his own throbbing prick, he leaned down and licked the pre-cum from his lover's slit. "Mmmm, you taste so good." He straightened up and moved closer, teasing the entrance to Tommy's body with his silk-covered steel. "Tell me what you want."

"Dammit, Eric," Tommy had just about lost it right there when Eric licked him and groaned at the loss he was now feeling. Sitting up slightly, he looked at his lover. "I want you to take me... make me yours again."

Grinning, Eric leaned down and kissed him, then pulled back slightly. "With pleasure." He quickly entered Tommy, capturing the groan that issued from him with his mouth, then held still, allowing the other man to adjust to him before he pulled almost completely out and slid back in slowly. Inch by inch, he drew out the torturous sensation of being enveloped by the heat of his lover until he was once again buried to the hilt.

For several minutes, Tommy let Eric set the slow pace, until he couldn't take it anymore. "Please Eric, fuck me hard. I need more." He wrapped his legs around his lover, trying to draw him in closer, deeper even, as he began to meet his thrusts.

With one hand, Eric began pulling and twisting on the rock hard nipples that stuck out slightly on Tommy's chest. Keeping in time with his thrusts and strokes, Eric could feel the tingling start at the base of his spine. Only then did he begin to pound harder into the former green ranger.

Tommy's cry of completion was swallowed by Eric's own moan as his lover's release drove him over the edge. The hand he had on his lover's shaft stilled as his wild thrusts came to a halt and rested his head against Tommy's, breath coming in harsh pants as he remained in his lover's body.

While he allowed Eric to rest, Tommy let his hands roam the now sweat-slicked back, moving downward to tease the tight globes. "Rest for a few minutes, then it's my turn."

Eric chuckled softly, then raised his head a bit before kissing Tom softly. "Gonna have your wicked way with me?"

"You know it. You got any requests?" Tommy answered with a grin.

"Dessert first? Might need my energy so I can last." He shifted slightly, causing his softened cock to slip from his lover. He groaned softly at the loss of contact.

"Sure. Let's go out to the hot tub and see what's waiting for us." He rose up and captured those enticing lips with his own. After a few moments, he rose up even further, carrying Eric with him until they were both standing. Clothes littered the floor all around them. Tommy took Eric's hand and they went out to the deck, looking for other preparations that had been made for them.

Eric wrapped his arms around his lover as he came to a stop, looking at the hot tub with the two dishes of chocolate mousse chilling on a bed of ice...another bottle of wine beside them with candles lit in the corner giving the area a soft glow... it was already getting dark, which lent an air of romance to the setting that was furthered by the falling snow that fell silently to the ground a few feet away. "Do you like it?"

Tommy surveyed the scene and smiled warmly. "Oh yeah...it looks wonderful. You really arranged all this?"

"I got a few suggestions from your friends about dinner and the lodge has a wine expert that helped with that. Figured the mousse would be a choice that we both enjoyed. The candles were my idea though," he placed a soft kiss behind Tommy's left ear, "because I love the way you look in firelight."

Tom leaned into the kiss and chuckled softly. He couldn't believe how sweet his boyfriend was being. "Well you know, you look good in any light. Let's try out that hot tub."

Eric led Tommy over and stepped in, then helped him in before crossing to the far side and taking a seat on the bench. The water came up to mid-chest on him as he sat down. "Man that feels good." He pulled Tommy over close to him. "You feel better."

"This really is nice," he said with a contented sigh. "We need a hot tub at one of our houses." He settled down against his lover, ran a wet hand through the short, thick hair, and then pulled the dark head forward, kissing him soundly. He explored Eric's mouth in detail, both men moaning in pleasure as the kiss deepened even further.

Letting his boyfriend set the pace, the Quantum Ranger let his hands roam the man's body. One hand coming forward to roll, pinch and flick at the dusky peaks on that toned chest. The other hand he let stroke the muscular back, loving the feel of the sculpted planes beneath his hands.

Tommy's hands were busy as well. Eric's wide, strong shoulders were caressed and rubbed, along with his biceps. Eventually, the former black ranger brought both hands back up to either side of Eric's face and held him there. "Mmmm...where did you learn to kiss like that?"

He grinned. "Practice, plus you're a pretty good teacher." Sitting back a bit, he looked into the chocolate eyes. "Ready for some dessert?"

"When have you ever known me not to be ready for chocolate?" Tommy said with a big grin. "What kind of wine did they pair with dessert?"

"He said it was more of a port than a real wine, but that it goes really well with chocolate and has 'slightly fruity after notes'. Wes has had it a couple of times at some of the dinners. It's good." He opened the wine and poured them both a glass, handing one to Tommy. "Try it."

Taking a tentative sip, Tom's face lit up as the liquid made its way across his taste buds. "Mmm, that _is_ good. Nice choice." He placed his glass on the ledge and picked up one of the dishes of mousse. "I'll bet this is wonderful too--it looks amazing."

Grinning, Eric held up a small boat of raspberry puree. "There's a bit of this to go with it, but it's up to you if you want it." He took a sip of his own wine before setting it aside and pouring a little of the puree on his mousse.

"What is it?" Tommy asked, looking at the puree.

"Raspberry," Eric answered.

Tommy wasn't sure, so he dipped a finger in and then licked it clean. "Mmm, not bad." As he looked up, he noticed Eric watching him with a wicked grin. "What?" he asked his boyfriend.

"Do that again," he requested.

Tom grinned, then took his lover's hand and dipped his index finger deeply into the puree. Placing the finger deep into his mouth, he made a production out of slowly pulling it out again, sucking and caressing the digit with his hot tongue.

Eric groaned softly as the action sent blood rushing to his member, causing it to rise again. Grinning at Tommy, he licked a bit of the raspberry-topped chocolate from his dish, then leaned in and kissed his lover, sharing the treat with him. When it was gone, he let the kiss linger, keeping it light. Finally breaking it in order to breathe, he looked at T. "Good?"

"Wonderful," Tommy simply said and proceeded to pour a bit of the raspberry puree on his mousse. Thoroughly enjoying their dessert, the boys ate and drank while soaking in the bubbling water.

As Tom finished the chocolate mousse, he looked over at his lover. "Eric, I know it's my birthday and everything, but...is that the only reason you're doing all this for me?"

Eric pulled his lover closer. "No, I did it because you need to relax and I miss being with you. With you still in Reefside and me in Silver Hills, I don't get to see you as often as I'd like."

"Yeah, I think I realized that you weren't getting enough the last time you let yourself into my house at 3 am," he grinned.

"It's not just about getting enough. I miss you, T. You don't know how much I hate to see you leave every time we spend the weekend at my place. Or how much it tears me up when one of us has to cancel our plans because something comes up work wise." He sighed and rested his head against his lover's for a moment. "Do you know that I've considered leaving the Guardians to find something in Reefside? Just so I can be closer to you."

Tommy's eyes widened a bit. "Eric...you can't do that. That's your calling--you'd be lost without it. We'll work something out and soon. I don't like being separated from you either." He paused for a moment. "You know that picture of us that was taken at the beach--the one on my nightstand?"

"Yeah, we both have a copy of it. And considering I fall asleep looking at it sometimes, I know it really well."

"Well, not to sound like a silly little girl or anything...and don't you dare tell anyone this...but I stare at it all the time too--especially while I'm lying in bed. And particularly when I'm talking to you on the phone. I miss you terribly when we're apart--it's not just you."

"I can't deal with this much longer, Tommy. We're gonna have to figure something out. Hell, did you know that Wes practically kicked me out of the office yesterday because I was so distracted with making sure that everything was going to go the way it was supposed to this weekend? I kept wondering if Connor and Trent were going to show. Or if Randall was going to give you something to do last minute. I was so distracted that I almost advanced B squad in their training by almost two weeks until Wes came in and pointed out that for a group that was just starting, a ten-mile run in full gear might be a bit much."

Tommy grinned and shook his head. "Yeah, I'd say so. Tell Wes I'm sorry that my birthday got you so distracted," he chuckled. "But seriously baby, we'll work something out--I promise. Trust me," he said with a wink.

"I'll tell him. Although, I think I should just reserve him a place up here for a weekend and be done with it." He chuckled softly. "Can be the Ranger version of a love shack."

The former black ranger burst out laughing. "Oh yeah...and as insatiable as most rangers I know are, we should probably own stock in the place! Must be something to do with the powers..."

"Might be. I'm sure someone will eventually do a study on it." Eric pulled him closer again. "I am serious about one thing, you need to relax this weekend. You're too tense. I noticed when we were making love earlier."

"Really? I'm sorry. I didn't realize that I was that wound up." He stopped and grinned. "I'm sure you'll help me to loosen up, though."

As they had finished their dessert, the dishes were stacked on the nearby table and then Tom turned to his lover. "So...what now? What else do you have up your nonexistent sleeve?"

"Oh, I don't know. Figured that we could sit here and relax... maybe make out a bit." He leaned in and gently nipped at a spot on Tommy's neck that he knew sent shivers through the other man. "Or we could have our way with each other." He licked along that same path before moving down to the skin that rested over his lover's collarbone and sucked lightly before nipping the area.

"Mmmm, that's nice," Tommy moaned, one hand in Eric's hair and the other lightly rubbing his side. "But I owe you a good pounding, don't I?" he asked with a wicked grin.

"I think you might." He gestured to a small bowl of water off to the side. "Reach in there and see what you find." One of the things Jason had suggested, especially considering how cold it was up there in the evenings, was to have the lodge put a bowl of hot water with a couple bottles of lube out by the hot tub. That way, it wouldn't be too cold and would be better tolerated. _'Damn, but I owe Jason for this suggestion.'_ While he waited for Tommy to find what was in the bowl, he bent down and latched onto a nipple, sucking lightly before biting and flicking the hard peak.

Tommy reached into the warm water a little hesitantly and pulled out the bottles that had been warming there. He had to chuckle. "You really _did_ think of everything, didn't you?" he asked, shaking his head and smiling. "Well, since you went to so much trouble, I guess we should make good use of this." He sat the bottles down on the ledge and put an arm around Eric's trim waist, pulling him up against his chest. He placed a kiss on the full lips, but quickly moved down onto his neck, nipping and licking the smooth, tanned skin.

Eric let his head fall back slightly, exposing more of his throat to his lover and shifted forward a bit, allowing Tommy better access to his backside. His hands gently played with his lover's shaft, stroking it to life.

Tommy opened the bottle of lube and squeezed some onto his fingers. He was pleased to find it was one of the heavier ones and the trip into the water would only thin it slightly. Spreading it over a couple of fingers, he closed his hand and put it in the water while he continued his assault on Eric's neck and shoulders. Latching onto the other man's mouth once again, he slipped his tongue inside at the same time he inserted a finger into that hot, tight hole he would soon be plundering. Tom swallowed the groan of pleasure that the Quantum Ranger let loose as he began to slide his finger in and out. After only a few strokes, he added his second finger, scissoring them slightly to stretch his partner for his considerable size.

Moaning slightly, Eric wasn't about to be left out as he took a firmer hold on Tommy's cock, but kept the same long, slow strokes. He added a slight twist on the upstroke and ran his thumb over the slit. His hips thrust upward as his boyfriend stroked his prostrate and he broke the kiss to take in air. "Please, take me now... I want to feel you in me... spreading me open."

Groaning softly, Tommy grabbed more of the lube and slicked his own engorged member, coating it thoroughly before putting one of Eric's legs around his waist. Leaning in, he gently nipped his lover's bottom lip before moving down further and sucking on a turgid peak. As he bit down on the hard nub, he began to enter the man he loved. Once he was past the first ring of muscle, he felt himself pulled in by the second and he drove his hips forward until he was buried to the hilt inside that hot ass.

Groaning softly at the twin assault, Eric gazed with lust filled eyes on the man before him. "Show me who the teacher is." He moved his other leg out to the side, allowing his lover better access. "Give me a lesson I'll never forget."

"Mmmm, think I could enjoy teaching you a few things." He pulled out almost all the way, then slid forward again slowly. He repeated this several times before circling his hips and then repeating the same rhythm.

Picking up the pace, Tommy pounded mercilessly into the man beneath him, grunting with each stroke as he felt his balls slap against Eric's ass. "ERIC!!!!" The cry was ripped from him as he came hard, his lover clenching around him as he too came with a breathless grunt. Tommy made a few more thrusts as he emptied his essence deep inside his lover. Then, he pulled Eric in close and sat back on the bench, the other man now on his lap. Gently, he nuzzled Eric's neck before moving up to those lush, full lips and kissing him softly. "You all right?"

Eric could only nod as he leaned his head forward to rest against Tommy's shoulder. He could feel the other man still in him and still slightly hard. Grinning, he bit down on the juncture of T's shoulder while clenching his ass muscles around the member inside of him.

Tom groaned softly. "You are insatiable." He stroked Eric's back. "Let's move this inside. I don't want either one of us to get sick."

Eric sighed. "That means I have to get up. What if I don't want to do that just yet?" He chuckled softly, then nipped at his lover's collarbone.

Tommy ran a wet hand through his lover's thick hair. "Oh come on...there's a wonderful fire inside going to waste. How about a quick cuddle on the couch?"

"All right, you convinced me." He removed himself from Tom's lap, groaning softly at the loss of contact as his lover's cock slipped from him. Standing up straight, he shivered. "Man it got cold." He held his hand out. "Come on, let's get inside."

Tommy stood up and shivered as well. "Did the good fairies leave us some towels too?" he grinned. Looking around quickly proved that they had. "Man...they're good!" They carefully climbed out and grabbed the towels, practically running indoors.

Eric grabbed the poker and stoked a bit of life into the fire, then made his way over to the couch. "Can see now why it was suggested to use the hot tub early and not too long after dark."

"Yeah, I guess we're not accustomed to these temperatures," Tommy said as he dried off a bit and then grabbed the big, plush comforter from the back of the couch. He wrapped part of it around himself and held it open. "Care to join me?"

After drying off, Eric grinned at him. "Of course." He climbed onto the couch and joined his lover in the blanket, wrapping his arms around the other man. "This is nice."

"Yeah, it is," Tommy whispered into Eric's ear as he nuzzled there. "Are you getting warmed up?" he asked as he rubbed the muscled thighs of his boyfriend.

"Definitely." He ran his hands up and down Tommy's back. "So what are your plans for the rest of the evening? I think there might be a whole lot to this cabin that we haven't seen yet."

"_My_ plans? This is _your_ covert plan, Cmdr. Myers," he grinned. "What did you have in mind? Wanna check out the bedroom? Did you leave any detailed instructions for that like you have everything else?"

Eric grinned devilishly. "Maybe. I did say that we might be fulfilling a couple of fantasies this weekend."

Tommy laughed. "The concierge here must be very open-minded. I'll bet they could tell some stories...."

"Actually, I think Jason said that the concierge was in a long-standing relationship with the manager and that both of them live here year round. Said that both of them were very open guys." He leaned in and suckled on a spot at the juncture of Tommy's throat and shoulders, then nipped it before stroking the area with his tongue. "But yes, I'm sure they have a few stories to tell." He repeated the process, moving lower to his lover's collarbone. "Like why I requested a mini-fridge to be stocked with a few items in the bedroom..."

"Mini-fri--...Eric Myers, what on earth are you up to?" Tommy smiled. "I've gotta see this--come on." He stood up, pulling his lover with him and they walked toward the door that he figured must be the bedroom. Taking hold of the doorhandle, he paused and turned back to Eric. "Should I be afraid?"

"No, but how about we make this exciting?" He kissed Tom lightly. "Close your eyes before you turn back around."

He gave his lover a bit of an anxious look. "Okay..." he said and closed his eyes, allowing Eric to lead him.

Opening the door, Eric led his lover into the room, then closed it behind them. Wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's waist from behind, he whispered in his ear, "Open them."

The room had another, smaller fireplace where a fire crackled lazily. The bed was turned down with a thick down comforter resting at the foot in a deep green. Resting on one pillow was a card, opened slightly. The mini-fridge sat over to the side and held a small basket of grapes, strawberries, raspberries and cherries plus a small bowl of what looked to be chocolate. A small, black gift bag sat on each nightstand and candles lined the shelf above the bed.

Tommy couldn't believe his eyes. The bedroom was set up beautifully and it looked so cozy and welcoming. "Eric...this is...wow. I never knew you had such a romantic streak," Tom said once he'd found his voice again. He turned in Eric's arms and embraced him tightly. "All this for me?"

"Some of it is for us, but yes, most of it's for you." He pulled him closer. "I love you, Tommy—never doubt that. And you know if I had my way about it, we'd be declaring it to everyone."

Almost everyone in the Silver Guardians knew that both he and Wes were gay, just not in a relationship with each other. Not that they hadn't tried, but like Tommy and Jason, they were better off as best friends. Besides, Wes had his own stud at the moment. He chuckled softly when he thought about the other couple.

"You know I feel the same way. If it weren't for the damn closed-minded people on the school board..." Tommy stopped and sighed. "Anyway...this is wonderful. Thank you so much." He leaned in and kissed him deeply, expressing his appreciation in yet another way. He wasn't accustomed to being treated like this. His previous partners were loving, but not in the same way as Eric. Even with Jason--because they had been friends for so long, their relationship felt more like a continuation of that. They loved each other, yes, but it was more of a brotherly love. With Eric though...Tommy felt cherished, adored, and loved more than he ever had before.

Eric sighed softly into the kiss, then started moving his lover... his soulmate... back towards the bed. When it finally hit the former black ranger in the back of the knees, he put a knee on the bed before laying his lover back upon the cool sheets. "This weekend is about us." He gently suckled a nipple, then flicked it with his tongue before kissing a path back up Tommy's chest to his neck, nuzzling the spot at the hollow of his throat.

Tommy laid upon the plush bed with an arm thrown back over his head, enjoying the feel of the thick pillows, soft sheets, and the beautiful man currently attached to his neck. "Mmmmm," he groaned, closing his eyes and drinking in the sensation.

Sliding up further, Eric stretched out beside his own Adonis, one leg going between his and gently parting them. An arm slid around Tommy's back, rolling him slightly towards the Quantum Ranger, brushing their erections together in the process. Slowly, he began kissing his way up, taking his time to nip, lave and kiss the skin under his lips until he reached the soft, full lips that begged for attention. Moaning softly, he quickly slid his tongue inside, teasing its mate that rested inside that warm cavern to come out and play before retreating.

Tommy happily returned the kiss, deepening it as he caressed and stroked the ripped upper body of his beloved. Powerful legs rubbed against their counterparts, causing a delicious friction. After coming up for air, they simply laid in each other's arms, enjoying the feeling of just being together with no one else around and no worries of being interrupted. Eric laid his head on Tommy's chest, listening to the gently crackling fire in the nearby fireplace.

Upon stretching his arms a bit, Tommy's hand brushed across the card that had been lying on the pillow, waiting to be noticed. He turned his head and looked, then picked it up.

"Hey, I almost forgot about this," he said, bringing it over to read. If only he could see it. "Baby, how 'bout reading this to me? My glasses are in the other room," he said quietly.

Grinning, Eric took the card from his hands. "You really need some contacts, you know that?" he chuckled.

"Can't wear 'em and you know _that_," Tommy replied.

"Okay, okay. It says 'Happy Birthday' on the front, obviously. On the inside, I wrote, 'To the man I love: On your birthday, I wanted to tell you how much being with you has meant to me over the last year and a half--you have changed my life for the better. I love you, Tommy. Yours Always, Eric.' He paused and turned his head up to look at his lover. "Kinda corny, huh?" he asked.

Tom pulled his boyfriend closer and smiling, kissed his forehead. "No...not at all. I think that's one of the nicest cards I've ever gotten, actually."

"I'm glad you like it," Eric answered, trying but failing to suppress a yawn.

"You getting tired too?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty wiped. You really wore me out, Falcon," the Quantum Ranger answered.

"Why don't we call it a night? We've got plenty of time tomorrow to see what other mischief we can get into," Tommy suggested with a grin.

"Sounds good."

Together, they crawled under the expensive sheets and curled up together, Eric behind Tommy, as was their preferred sleeping position. Before drifting off, Eric turned Tommy's face to give him one more kiss.

"Happy Birthday, Baby. Sleep well."

"Thanks, you too. Oh, and maybe tomorrow I'll be able to surprise _you_," Tommy said with a smile. "Good night."

Basking in the warmth of the fire and each other, both men faded into sleep, tired but more content than they had been in a long time. They were right where they wanted to be.

______________________________________

_Author's Notes:_ _The weekend's just getting started! Be sure to watch out for Chapter 2! And if you'd like to see this story continue into something other than a short story, please tell us in your review. It's that little button down there..._


	2. Decisions and Celebrations

**A Ranger Retreat**

**By**

**A Warrior's Prophet**

**Disclaimer****: See Chapter 1**

**Authors' Notes****: **We would like to apologize for taking so very long to update this story. Between the two of us, we have several stories going at once and then there's real life that frequently gets in the way! We do have quite a bit already written for this story, so please bear with us! Hope you're loving the Tommy/Eric pairing as much as we are!

**Chapter 2****—Decisions and Celebrations**

Eric sighed happily before leaning in and kissing his lover softly. "That was a great way to wake up, thank you."

Tommy smiled at him. "You're welcome...my pleasure, believe me." He kissed him once more and stroked his thick, black hair. "I love waking up to you, baby."

"I know, just wish we could do this more often. I sleep better with you beside me."

"Mmm, me too. We're gonna work on making this happen more often... I promised you, remember?"

"I know." He kissed him again. "We should probably get a shower." A soft smile played on his face as Tommy's stomach rumbled. "And some breakfast. They have room service here."

"Do they? Good. I wasn't looking forward to going out in the cold this early in the morning. Let's order and then get in the shower."

"Anything special you want?" Sitting up a bit reluctantly, Eric reached for the menu that rested under the phone.

"No, just the usual I guess... unless they have something on there that looks really good." He slid up beside Eric and leaned in close, looking at the menu.

"They have crepes with fruit, omelets... pretty much anything. Even got eggs Benedict if you want to go for something more elaborate."

"Oooh, crepes sound good. What do you want?"

"That works for me. Any particular type of topping? They've got strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, cherry and peach."

"Blueberry, I think- and some juice and coffee. I'm gonna get the shower ready-you order and meet me in there, okay?" he said and kissed Eric lightly on the lips and then slid out of bed. They had been so preoccupied the night before that their bags hadn't even made it to the bedroom yet. Going out into the living room, Tommy gazed out the French doors at the snowfall that had piled up since last night. _'Man, we really could get snowed in up here!'_

Eric called room service and ordered the crepes- blueberry for his boyfriend and peach for himself- along with juice, coffee and an assortment of muffins. Hanging up, he made his way out to the living room and spotted his lover at the doors. He walked up behind him and put his arms around his waist, holding him close. "It's beautiful up here."

Laying his head back against Eric, Tommy whispered, "It sure is. I don't get to see enough snow... it just fascinates me." He sighed and just continued to gaze outside. "If I ever came into some money, I'd have a vacation house in the mountains- something like this," he said and smiled up at his lover.

"Know what you mean." He was quiet for a moment. "It's not the same as having one for ourselves, but Wes' dad has a place up in the mountains. If we really wanted to get away for a while, I'm pretty sure that he'd let us use it. If I understand right, it just kind of sits up there unused." He laid a soft kiss on the warm lips. "We should probably get that shower now, before the food gets here."

"Yeah, you're right. Come on." As they started toward the bathroom, Tommy looked at Eric. "It must be nice to have so much money that you could have a house that you don't use."

"From what Wes told me, his dad bought it for his mom. They used to go up there during the summer and winter for the holidays, before she got sick. Said after she died, they quit going, but his dad could never sell the place. We went up there a couple of times. It's a nice place... quiet... there's a hot spring nearby."

"Sounds nice. We should definitely go up there sometime soon, if Mr. Collins will let us." Entering the bathroom, Eric started the shower and got in along with Tommy. The free-standing shower was plenty big enough for two and they wasted no time getting drenched under the warm spray.

Eric groaned softly as the warm water pounded his back. He was a little sore from all the time spent in the car yesterday and the day before.

"You alright?" Tommy asked when he noticed that his boyfriend seemed to be in a bit of pain. "Need me to rub something for you?"

"Shoulders and back are really tight. Guess all that driving is starting to catch up to me." He winced again, and then sighed. "Think you can try to get my shoulders to loosen up?"

"I'll definitely try. Come here," Tommy said and positioned him where he had enough room to work on his upper back and shoulders. "If this doesn't work, we'll try a regular massage after breakfast."

"Maybe we should see if they do those in-room couples massages." He tried not to flinch as his boyfriend hit a particularly sore spot, but had to move a bit. "Ow, easy."

"Oh, sorry. I'll be more careful," he said as he lightened up the pressure, but continued to work on those sore spots. "A couple's massage would be great! We'll have to check into that."

"It's not all you, Tom. That area was just really sore." He sighed as he lowered his head. "Probably going to have to. You're helping, but I don't think it's going to be enough."

Tommy leaned around and kissed Eric's jaw. "I'm sure an upscale place like this has a masseuse. Here, turn around and let the hot water hit your back for a few minutes.

Eric turned around, taking his lover in his arms. "So should we see if they have a spot available for this morning after breakfast? Then maybe take that hike."

"Sounds wonderful," Tom whispered into Eric's ear and continued to kiss all along his jaw line until he reached those soft, full lips that were waiting for him. He pressed his mouth to his boyfriend's, gently at first but increasing in pressure. Their tongues began to play and intertwine with each other as the kiss deepened.

Groaning softly, Eric let one hand trail to the small of his lover's back, pulling him closer. The other he let roam down Tommy's chest, tracing the contours of the muscled physique until it came to rest on their burgeoning cocks. Taking hold of them both, he gently began stroking.

Tommy moaned into Eric's mouth letting his hands roam free over the strong body of his boyfriend. Coming to rest on the firm ass cheeks, he gave them a nice squeeze.

Eric grinned at him when they broke for breath. "Find something you like? I did." He sped up his strokes as he found the other man's lips once more.

The Quantum Ranger could feel the pressure building and sped up his strokes on their hot, hard shafts. Moments later, he thrust his hips towards his boyfriend as he came, splashing his essence between them. Two strokes later and Tommy followed him. They stood there for several minutes, panting slightly, foreheads pressed together as they tried to catch their breaths. He sighed and placed a light kiss on the legendary ranger's lips. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Tom said softly, leaning into Eric. "We'd better hurry and get out. Breakfast will be here in a few minutes."

"Probably right." He kissed him again, and then stepped back. Washing quickly, he let the water sluice the suds away then stepped out. Grabbing a towel he grinned. "Well, heated towel racks." He passed one of the warm, fluffy towels to his boyfriend and took another for himself.

Tommy laughed. "This place has everything!"

Quickly they dried themselves and dressed in something comfortable. Not a minute later, there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it," Eric said as he started out of the bedroom and towards the front door.

Opening the door, he grinned at the service boy. "Ah, morning." He held the door open for him. "Please, come in."

The young man walked in quickly and put the big tray down on the table. He went over the order with Eric to make sure it was correct. When he was satisfied, he started for the door. "Hang on a sec," Eric said and jogged into the other room to retrieve his wallet. Pulling out a few bills, he handed the nice tip to the boy and watched him leave. "Tommy, breakfast!" he called to his lover.

Coming out of the bedroom, he raised an eyebrow. "You know, I was just in the next room. No need to bellow." He walked up to his lover and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Unless you're just that hungry."

"I am, actually," Eric said with a smile. "And it all looks really good."

"Then let's eat and afterward we'll see about getting you a massage for that stiff back of yours."

-o-O-o-

Eric sighed softly and gently rolled his shoulders as Tommy shut the door behind the two masseuses. "That was definitely worth the money."

He carefully tucked the tail of the towel back into place as it rested low on his hips.

"Oh yeah...absolutely," Tommy replied. "Wish I could get a massage more often. So, shall we get dressed for our hike?"

The Quantum Ranger grinned and walked over to his partner, slipping his arms around the trim waist. "Probably. Think you'll be warm enough?"

"Well I suppose that depends on what you packed for me, now won't it, Mr. Travel Agent?" he said with a smile. "Regardless, I'll bet we can keep each other warm if it comes down to it." With that, he slapped Eric on the butt and headed toward the bedroom to get dressed.

Chuckling softly, he followed the other man into the bedroom. "I think you'll like what I packed for you." Once he was in the bedroom, Eric dropped the towel from his waist, and then walked up behind Tommy. "You know, we could always just stay in. Catch up a little more." He slid his hands around to the front and undid the towel slung low on the former Ranger Commander, letting it fall to the floor. He leaned in and placed a light kiss behind the man's ear.

"Tempting..." Tom said, laying his head to the side to allow his lover better access. "...but it'll be fun to get out in the snow for a little while, don'tcha think? Besides, we've got plenty of time for 'catching up'," he chuckled.

"Hmm, probably right." He dropped a few more kisses on the tanned skin. "Just want to spend as much time with you as I can. It'll be a few weeks before I can get another weekend off and come up."

Tommy thought again about telling Eric what was on his mind. He was very quickly coming to a decision regarding his career and he wanted to discuss it with his partner, but he decided to wait for now. "That long, huh?" he sighed. "Well, maybe I can get away for a weekend between now and then and drive over."

"I'm really starting to hate this only being able to see each other around our schedules." He let go of Tommy and walked over to the dresser he'd put his clothes in and pulled out a pair of boxers.

"I know. I feel the same way, Bear. But we're gonna get it worked out soon-I just know it," Tommy responded, finding his clothes and starting to dress.

"I hope so. Otherwise Mike or one of the others will end up taking my spot in the Guardians." He pulled on a pair of jeans, and then sat on the bed to pull on his socks.

The former Ranger Commander turned his head quickly. "Seriously? Are you that close to packing it in with them?" he asked, wondering which one would be making the career change.

Sighing, Eric looked at his lover. "I can't do this much longer, Tom. Every time we part ways after a weekend together, I wonder what's gonna come up or if we're going to be able to see each other like we'd planned. I don't want to leave them. The job is something that I really love doing." He raised his head and met the former Green Ranger's chocolate eyes. "But I love you as well and not being able to stay with you on a more permanent basis is killing me. Waking up without you," he shook his head. "No job, even if it makes me happy, is worth it."

After pulling on his pants, Tom took a seat beside him and put his hand on Eric's back. "I can't tell you how good it is to know that you love me that much. And you know that I feel the same way, right?"

"Yeah, I know you do. I just wish it didn't come down to one of us having to give up something they love." He raised a hand and cupped the other man's cheek. "But you are worth so much more than a job. I'll find something to do in Reefside. Might not pay as much or anything, but at least I'll be close to you."

Sighing, Tommy smiled. He knew now that he couldn't wait any longer. "Eric, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about. I was gonna save it for dinner tonight, but we may as well discuss it now."

He raised an eyebrow. "Sounds kind of serious." He turned a bit so that he was facing Tommy more. "What is it?"

Tom shifted a bit to get more comfortable. "Well... lately I've been thinking a lot about teaching... and how I'm not sure I want to do it anymore." Eric started to speak, but Tommy silenced him with a finger to his lips. "Hear me out. Maybe things would be different in another school, in another place, I don't know... but as it is, I'm getting really tired of it. Never knowing if I'll have a job the following school year, afraid of the school board finding out that I'm bi, kids that don't wanna learn... it's not what I signed up for," he said, sounding depressed about the whole situation.

Eric was quiet for a few moments, and then nodded. "Any thoughts about what you want to do instead?" The Quantum Ranger had already talked to his co-Commander many times about adding the other former Ranger to their teaching cadre. He was just hoping that the other man would be open to the idea.

"To be honest, I've spoken with someone at the Guardian headquarters and he's offered me a very nice position." He stopped and grinned as Eric's eyes got bigger. "So I'm thinking that I'll turn in my notice when we get back-finish out the semester and then move to Silver Hills with you. Whatcha think?"

The other man said nothing as he closed the distance between them and captured his partner's lips.

Pulling back suddenly, he stared wide-eyed at Tommy. "Oh my God, I've gotta call Wes." He moved to get up and go to the phone.

Chuckling, Tommy laid back on the bed. "And just why are you calling Collins right now?"

The SG Commander blushed. "Because I dropped my letter of resignation on his desk before I left." He dialed the number to his friend, knowing the other man would be out and about with his own boyfriend for the weekend.

Tommy sat up like he had a wound spring in his back. "You what?" he said excitedly, looking at Eric with big eyes. When Eric just nodded and kept dialing, Tommy went on. "Well get in touch with somebody before we're both outta work!"

Mike growled as he reached over and grabbed the phone, pinning Wes to the bed with his eyes. Checking the caller ID, he growled. "Do you have any idea what you're interrupting?"

Sounding a little upset, Eric stuttered. "Umm, hey Mike. Yeah, I've got a pretty good idea and I'm sorry but I've gotta talk to Wes."

Shaking his head, Mike handed the phone to his partner. "It's Eric. He actually sounds a little upset." The dark haired man got up after kissing his lover and pulled on a pair of boxers. "I'll grab us something to drink while you talk."

The blonde nodded, taking the phone from him. "All right, thanks Mike." He sighed softly. "Eric? What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"Well, that depends. Did you get the letter I left on your desk yesterday?"

"You mean your resignation? Yeah I did, but I haven't done anything with it. I was hoping to be able to talk you out of it when you got back to get your things."

"About that... umm... can you just tear that up? I've changed my mind," he said, turning and smiling at his lover.

Tommy smiled back and winked, keeping quiet while he was on the phone.

He chuckled softly. "Eric, do you honestly think I kept it? Or that I'd let you leave, especially when I've been talking to Tommy about taking up a position here?" He grinned as Mike came back into the room. "Just relax Eric and enjoy the rest of your weekend. I'll see you Tuesday."

"_You've_ been talking to Tommy?" he asked in a surprised tone and turned toward his boyfriend winking.

For his part, Tom chuckled and lay back on the bed again, waiting to hear what Eric would say next.

"Who did you think was offering him a job that pays only slightly less than what you're making right now? And with all his benefits starting once he signs the papers along with a moving allowance?"

"Man, that's a pretty sweet deal," Eric said. "You guys have been holding out on me! How long has this been in the works, hmm?"

"Only a couple of weeks, Eric." He inhaled sharply as his boyfriend got tired of being ignored and bit lightly on a nipple. "Talk to Tommy and I'll see you on Tuesday. Enjoy the extra day off." He moaned as his shaft was lightly stroked. "Oh damn. Bye Eric." Hanging up, he turned his cell off and tossed it aside, and then looked down at his lover. "You don't play fair."

The former Navy SEAL grinned at the blonde. "Nope." He bent down and licked the head of his lover's shaft.

Wes groaned as they got back to what had been so rudely interrupted.

Eric held the phone for a few minutes, and then hung up and looked at Tommy. He raised an eyebrow as he crawled onto the bed beside his boyfriend. "Something you forgot to tell me?"

"Hmm?" he asked, pretending to ponder the question. "No... I don't think so. Why?" he asked with a sheepish grin.

Growling playfully, the Quantum Ranger quickly straddled his lover's hips. "Oh really?" He leaned down and gently nipped his lover's bare chest, making his way over to a dusky nipple. "So nothing you forgot to tell me? Maybe about talking to Wes?"

"Wes? Wes... hmm..." He laughed a bit, but then sucked in a quick breath when Eric's teeth started doing wonderful things to him.

"You know... blonde hair." He sucked lightly on the nipple he captured, and then blew across it. "I work with him and happen to be his co-Commander." He ground his hips slightly against his partner. "Offered you a very nice salary, moving allowances, and an immediate start to benefits once you sign the papers to join us." He pinned Tommy's arms to the bed and captured the man's warm, chocolate orbs with his own dark ones. "The person you've spent the last two weeks talking to without my knowing about it."

"Oh yeah, him. It's coming back to me now," Tommy laughed. "Blond guy that thinks he's God's gift? Him?"

"Well, I wouldn't say he thinks he's God's gift, but yeah." He leaned in and kissed his partner. When they were both breathless, he pulled back and looked down at Tommy. "I love you."

"I love you too, Bear. And I can't wait to move to Silver Hills and be with you all the time. Got a spare bedroom?" he grinned.

"Actually, I was thinking we should get a bigger place when you move in."

"Oh? Well, we've got time to look. It'll be late May early June at the earliest before I can move. And I tell ya, making more money will certainly help out."

"Very true." He sat up, and then moved off his lover and stood up. "Come on; let's take that hike and talk." His eyes sparkled like they hadn't in months as he spoke and it was easy to see the man's spirits had lifted greatly.

-o-O-o-

Both men finished dressing, taking care to put on enough layers to protect them from the cold. "Thanks for packing all this for me. I'm sure I woulda forgotten something," Tommy said, pulling on his jacket. "By the way, I don't think I've ever heard you stutter. What got you so flustered on the phone with Wes?"

"No problem." He blushed slightly as he zipped his own jacket up. "I kind of interrupted Wes and Mike. Of course, Mike is the one that answered."

"And what's this Mike like? Can't imagine anyone intimidating you."

Eric snorted and handed his lover a pair of gloves, putting his own in his jacket pocket. "Mike is an ex-Navy SEAL. He's been with us for about eight months and started dating Wes about six months ago. He's about Wes' height, bigger build but probably around the same weight." He grinned. "And the guy can give me a run for my money on the mats."

"Oh? Can't wait to meet him then. Wonder if I can take him?" Tommy said with a mischievous grin.

"Maybe. Either way, it'd be an interesting match." He grinned. "You'd probably be taking over part of what he's doing right now, because he doesn't really need to be over doing it. Guy's got a bum knee." He leaned in and kissed Tommy. "Come on; let's go make a few plans."

"You got it," he said and started toward the front door with his partner. "Got somewhere picked out already or are we just gonna follow the trail?"

"Let's just follow the trail. Anything else at the moment might be a little more than my back's ready for."

"Okay, that'll work. Let's go." They exited the cabin and walked up to the main lodge to ask about the location of the nearest hiking trail. Along the way, they spotted two or three other same sex couples all being very open about being together. "This sure is nice," Tommy commented, grasping Eric's hand. "Not having to hide or act like best friends."

"Yeah, it is." He squeezed his boyfriend's hand. "And just think when you finally move to Silver Hills, we won't have to pretend either." He looked over at the former Ranger Commander and shot him a warm smile. "Wes will be in your chain of command, so there's no conflict there. Just like Mike is in mine along with A-" He stopped, blushing slightly.

"Along with... who?" Tom asked.

He sighed. "I wasn't supposed to say anything, but we've been doing a major recruiting drive of former Rangers." He grinned. "Particularly those from Angel Grove."

Tommy stopped dead in his tracks, pulling Eric backwards a bit. "Oh? So who's been holding out on whom, I ask you?"

"What? It's Guardian business." He chuckled softly and wrapped his arms around his lover's waist. "Can I help it that Jason and Adam have qualities that we can really use? I mean Jase's skills as a paramedic will be most helpful and Adam's great at teaching meditation, which a lot of our recruits need."

"Jase and Adam? Have they signed on?" he asked, suddenly very excited.

"Yeah, they actually started last week. So they'll be old hats at this stuff by the time you get there."

Shaking his head, Tommy looked a bit stunned. "Wonder when anyone was gonna let me in on stuff? Why am I always the last to know?" he chuckled. "But it'll be great working with you, Wes, Jase, and Adam! Oh boy are we gonna have some parties!"

Eric nodded. "You and Jason are under Wes' chain of command while Adam and Mike are under mine. That way no one can say we're playing favorites with our boyfriends or anything like that." He took hold of Tommy's hand again as they finally started down the trail. "On a different note, do you want to buy or rent?"

"Good question. I'm not all that familiar with Silver Hills, so you'll have to help me out. I kinda like the neighborhood you live in now. Could we afford a house there?"

"That's kind of why I asked. Know that brick house at the end of the block? The one in the cul-de-sac?" When Tommy nodded, he continued. "Well, the owners are gonna sell it and I asked them if I could have first crack at it before they put it on the market." He was quiet for a moment. "It's got 2 bedrooms and a master suite, plus 2 bathrooms, a pool and a hot tub." He stopped and looked at the man he loved. "There's a living room, dining room, den and study. I know it might seem like a lot of room, but I think it'd be perfect for us."

"That's a big house, Eric. Could we even think of affording it?

"Considering that I rarely spend all of my paycheck and have been putting money back since I joined the Guardians?" He nodded, grinning. "And Mr. Collins has said that once I find a place I'm interested in buying to let him know and he'll write the loan himself. I've already told him that I'm interested and talked to the owners." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "They're asking $300,000 for it when it goes on the market, but I..." He grinned. "_We_ can get it for $250,000."

Tommy nearly choked. "Two hundred fif...damn, Eric...that's alotta money!"

Shaking his head, Eric stepped closer to his partner. "Not when I have over $90,000 sitting in the bank. We can do it, Tom… and it'd be ours."

"I guess I'm used to living on a teacher's salary. That still sounds like a lot of money. I'll have to see it before I agree, okay?"

"No problem. We're here until Sunday and I don't have to be back to work until Tuesday. Since you don't have to be back until Monday, we can swing by if you want." He grinned. "How much do you think you're going to be making once you start?"

"Well, I only have a rough idea. I know it's more than what I'm making now, though," Tommy replied. "I'm glad about that, but I don't know if we can take on such a huge financial burden right off. I'm not saying no-we'll talk about it."

Eric leaned in close to his partner's ear. "Tom, Jason and Adam are making almost $100,000 a year now." He placed a soft kiss on his lover's neck. "You'll be making at least that."

Stopping in his tracks, eyes growing larger, Tommy stuttered. "Ho-how much? Are you serious?"

Nodding, the Quantum Ranger grinned at him. "Why do you think they left and joined us? We work hard, Tom. You've seen Wes and me after some of the training sessions: bruised and worn out. If we didn't get the pay we do and have the benefits that come with the job, which includes free medical care at the base, there's no way that we'd still be doing it. We help out the police, but most of our contracts are still private, which means they pay really well. That means we can pay our people really well. The lowest cadet, after completing the initial training makes almost $40,000 a year."

"So between the two of us, we'll be... pretty comfortable, huh?" Tommy asked as they continued to walk.

"Definitely. It means that we'll actually be able to take vacations and travel a bit." He grinned. "Won't even have to use milk crates and plywood for a table."

"I had enough of that in college. I like real furniture, thank you," he grinned. A little ways down the path, Tom turned back to Eric. "So...where would you like to see?"

Eric grinned and stepped forward, wrapping his arms around his lover's waist. "I'd like to see a bit of Europe. Sample some of the local foods and wine, do some exploring." He kissed him softly. "What about you?"

"Oh yeah, that'd be cool," he said with a nod, continuing to think. "Japan would be awesome!"

"We can do that. If we're going to Japan, we might as well hit China." He grinned. "Maybe take a walk along the Great Wall."

"Aww man... that'd be the trip of a lifetime," he said, a big smile breaking out all over his face. "And to take it with you would make it absolutely perfect."

"So is it wrong of me to want the school year to hurry up and end?" The Quantum Ranger shook his head. "I'm gonna drive Wes nuts until you actually finish out the term and can move." He chuckled softly. "I might end up staying with you for a bit before school's out."

"Fine with me... you can help me pack!" he replied with a grin. "But I know what you mean, the more I think about it, the more anxious I'm getting."

"I'd help you pack, no problem." He nodded. "But yeah, definitely looking forward to June."

"Think we'll be able to live with each other day in and day out?"

The other man shrugged. "I'm sure we might have some rough patches at first, but I don't want us to ever go to bed mad at each other. Living with Wes for a bit taught me that.

"Yeah, that's a good rule to live by. For my part, I promise to try."

"That's all we can do. And all that I ask." He shivered a bit, and then grinned. "Think we should start moving again before we get too cold."

"Good idea," Tommy said, starting to move down the trail again. "So we're going to that nice restaurant in the lodge tonight, right?"

"That's right. Our reservation is for seven and dress is semi-formal. It's five courses."

"Any idea what they have? I'll bet its good, whatever it is."

"Not sure. I do know that they have Tiramisu and Chocolate Mousse on their dessert menu."

"Leave it to you to memorize the dessert menu!" he laughed.

The Asian chuckled softly. "Just means I have a sweet tooth." He looked over at his lover. "Besides, you as a chocoholic have no room to talk."

Grinning, his boyfriend replied, "True that. So what are we gonna do until dinner, hmmm?"

"Well, there is a light lunch that will be waiting for us back at the cabin. Other than that, I'm sure we can find something to do until dinner."

Walking along the trail enjoying the snow and the scenery, Tommy chuckled and grinned every time Eric stopped to snap more pictures. "It really is beautiful up here, isn't it? Are you getting lots of good shots?"

Eric blushed slightly. "Only around fifty or so at the moment." He straightened up after capturing a picture of the snowcapped mountains rising above a strand of pine trees that were dusted with snow.

"Oh? Is that all? You need to do better," he grinned. "At least we'll have a photo album full so that we can remember our wonderful weekend."

"I plan on it. Look at that open space up there." He pointed ahead of them on the trail to an open space that had a small cluster of rocks. "I want some shots of you against the background while sitting on the rocks."

"Well... my modeling career has been on hold for a while now. Are you sure you want pictures of me?" he kidded.

"Definitely." He dropped his voice a little bit. "Need something to keep me warm on those long, cold nights apart."

"That goes both ways, Bear. I want some shots of you too. And maybe later we can take the kind of pictures that shouldn't be shared with our friends..." he added, a mischievous grin on his handsome face.

Eric stopped and stepped closer to his boyfriend. "Hmmm, you lying in front of the fire with nothing on-hands behind your head so that your chest and abs just beg to be stroked, licked and nibbled. Could definitely get used to seeing that beside my bed."

"Oh I think that could be arranged... as long as I get a similar picture of you. My bed gets lonely too, ya know." He said and placed a warm kiss on his lover's lips before letting it deepen slightly, and then pulled back a bit. "Think I should get one of you when you're all wet from the shower. You can put your hands on the wall and look at me over your shoulder, and then turn just enough so that I can see all of you." He lightly nipped Eric's lips. "I'll be able to see the water as it slowly trickles down your chest and abs, over your thighs and all the way down to your feet."

Eric grinned and then leaned in and captured Tommy's lips once again, deepening the kiss until the need to breathe became necessary. He panted softly for a moment. "Think I can oblige you on that."

"Mmm... nice," Tom whispered. "I could make my own personal beefcake calendar," he grinned.

"As long as I get my own of you."

"Okay, no problem. We'll have to come up with some locales that we can shoot in. You know...places where we won't get arrested," Tom laughed.

"Well, there's a private beach on the backside of the Collin's mansion. Can always use that for some shots. Plus the woods behind your place would work really well." He grinned. "And that waterfall."

Raising his eyebrows, Tommy grinned. "Good idea... this is gonna be fun! We might have to wait for spring to get some of the outside shots, though."

"Well, it'll give us something to do to pass the time until you move in." He took hold of his boyfriend's hand. "Come on, let's start back."

"Yeah, let's go," the former Ranger Commander said, smiling warmly. "Let's get these pictures that you want and then get out of the cold."

For twenty minutes, Eric took pictures of his boyfriend. Then, another same-sex couple coming down the path offered them the chance to have one done together in the veritable winter wonderland.

"Thanks again." After showing the taller of the pair what did what on the camera, he joined Tommy on the rocks and sat behind him. Eric scooted until there was no room between them and leaned forward to rest his chin on his lover's shoulder, his arms wrapped around the man's waist.

"That should make a great picture," Tommy said once they had finished. Walking over to the other couple, Tommy offered to take pictures of them. "We'll be glad to email them to you."

They nodded. "We'd appreciate that." The man that spoke was taller than his partner with dark hair and green eyes. When they posed for the picture, nothing about the couple really drew you to watch them. Even the pose seemed half-hearted, but it was obvious that they cared for each other. After the picture was taken and email addresses exchanged, the two couples parted, going their own ways once again.

When they were alone once more, Eric took hold of his lover's hand and squeezed it softly. "I love you."

"And I love you too," Tom replied. After studying his partner for a minute, he asked, "What's on your mind? You look like you're processing something."

"Not exactly processing, but definitely thinking about a few things."

"Penny for your thoughts? Or is this more of a $5 thought process?"

He shook his head. "Nothing so spectacular. Just wondering how to make the time last longer until we have to go back to our normal routines."

"Well, we've got the rest of today and most of tomorrow up here. Neither of us have to work on Monday, so we can spend it at my house once we get back. Don't worry about it ending just yet-just enjoy it."

"I'm trying. It's just that knowing you're going to be moving down in a few months..." He sighed. "Just means a lot you know?"

"Yeah, I know. Believe me, I've been worrying over this decision for quite a while, but now that it's made... I'm completely confident that I'm doing the right thing. Getting really excited, too," he smiled.

"Good. Then we'll start worrying about packing your stuff starting in April. Winter clothes and stuff like that can be first."

"I'll be glad to have the help... I hate moving."

-o-O-o-

Eric grinned as he looked over at his lover. "I knew that shirt would look good on you." The legendary Ranger was dressed in a deep hunter green shirt, with black pants and a black jacket. A black belt cinched the pants around the trim waist, accenting the man's toned body.

Tom chuckled. "Been a while since I wore green...does it really look okay?"

"Oh yeah, really brings out the color of your eyes." He finished tucking in his own deep burgundy shirt. "Just didn't realize that I pretty much packed us Christmas colors."

"Hey, nothing wrong with that. It's just January- close enough. You look great in that, by the way."

"Thanks," He grinned and stood up, putting on his own black jacket. "Just glad we don't have to wear ties. Last time I wore one, fidgeted so much with it that Mr. Collins practically ordered me to take it off. Luckily the backers weren't put off by it."

"Oh man, I hate ties. I'll be so glad when I don't have to wear one anymore," Tommy said, messing with his hair in the mirror.

Chuckling softly, the Quantum Ranger walked up beside him. "Don't blame you one bit." He glanced at his watch. "You ready? We should get going."

"Yeah, I think so. My hair look okay?" he asked, still picking at the spikes.

"Your hair looks fine. Now, come on so we're not late." He grinned at his lover.

"Alright, alright. Let's go," Tommy said with a smile, turning toward Eric. "I wanna show off my handsome boyfriend."

"Can definitely agree with that." They walked together over to the main lodge and then Eric led them to the back before coming to a stop in front of a pair of onyx doors.

Admiring the beautiful entrance, Tommy stood back and waited for Eric. "Shall we go in?"

"Definitely." The Quantum Ranger opened the door and approached the maître'd. "Reservation for two under Myers."

Tom looked around at the decor while the man behind the desk looked up the reservation. _'Wow... look at all this rock work...and the carved wood. This must've been really expensive to do.'_

The man nodded. "If you'll follow me." He led the pair to a table for two towards the back of the room near the fireplace. Nodding at the man, Eric grinned as he took his seat.

"Your waiter will be with you shortly." When the man left, the Silver Guardian sighed softly. "This place is really nice."

"It really is," Tom replied, still looking around. "And pretty exclusive-there can't be more than ten or twelve tables in here."

He nodded. "When I made the cabin reservations they recommended going ahead and making one for here at the same time."

"Yeah, I'd imagine it fills up pretty quickly." He stopped as something across the room caught his eye.

Eric tried to follow his gaze. "What is it?"

"Look at the size of those picture windows... and the view outside of them... wow," he said, shaking his head. "Can you imagine having a house in a place like this?"

"It _is_ beautiful." He turned his gaze back to his boyfriend, and then reached out a hand and laid it on a smooth cheek. "I see something else just as spectacular though."

Tommy blushed in spite of himself and then smiled. "Stop it..."

"What? It's true. You are a beautiful person and I can't wait to spend every day with you."

"The feeling is mutual, believe me. I just hope we don't get on each other's nerves too bad," he grinned.

"That's why we'll set a few ground rules, like not going to bed angry." He looked up as the waiter approached, and then grinned at Tommy. "Jason made a suggestion about something to have for dinner from here. Figure if I trusted him before, it would be a good idea to do it now." He grinned a bit more. "So, do you trust me?"

"Hmmm... well, I trust Jase and I definitely trust you, so yeah... go ahead," he smiled.

"Good." He looked up at the waiter and grinned. "We'll have the complete beef medallions dinner."

The waiter nodded at them, grinning. "Very well, sir. Your first course will be out momentarily along with the appropriate wine pairings. My name is Mark and I'll be your waiter this evening." Bowing his head slightly, he left the pair alone and went to give the order to the kitchen.

"Beef, huh? Sounds like Jase," he said with a grin. "So, what's the 'complete dinner'? What do I have to look forward to?"

"Well, the appetizer is arugula, figs, and goat cheese, drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice and wrapped in a slice of prosciutto. Then there's gingered carrot soup, and a salad of spinach, peas and feta cheese." He grinned at the look on his lover's face. "Then there are the beef medallions with morels, Marsala and crème fraiche served with smashed herb potatoes and sautéed green beans. Then of course, there is dessert that is served with either coffee or port."

Tommy listened, his mouth fully watering by the time his boyfriend was done reading. "Mmm... that sounds incredible," he said with a warm smile. "One thing though... what's a morel?"

Chuckling softly, Eric shook his head before answering. "And here I thought you were gonna ask what the dessert was. A morel is a type of mushroom."

"Ahh, okay. But now that you mention it, what is the dessert?"

"Tiramisu." He chuckled softly as the legendary Ranger's eyes lit up. "Thought you'd like that."

"Aww man... we're not gonna be able to move by the time we eat all that. How're we gonna get back to the cabin?" he laughed.

"I think we'll be okay, but we can always take our time getting back."

"Another leisurely stroll with you? I don't know..."

Eric grinned. "Well, I'm sure some of these people that are staring might be willing to walk with you."

"Staring? Who's staring?" Tommy asked, pleasantly clueless.

"Well, there's that blonde in the black dress a couple tables over and then the dark haired gentleman in the grey suit."

"I don't wanna look and make it obvious. What makes you think they're staring at us?"

"Because neither one of them have been able to take their eyes off of us since we walked in." He chuckled softly. "Of course, she just had to put her attention back on her own date."

"Well, I'm sure they're fine people, but... no one turns my head but you," he replied, reaching over and placing his hand on top of his lover's.

"I'm glad to hear that." He put his other hand on top of Tom's. "Would hate to have to beat up on someone for trying to take you."

"No no... don't need any confrontations here. But it's nice to know that you'd fight for me," he grinned.

"Always." He let go of the hand he held as their first course arrived.

After their wine was served, Tommy picked up his glass and proposed a toast. "To us-may our future together be everything we hope for and that our love for each other never stops growing."

"I'll drink to that." He gently touched his glass to Tommy's and then took a drink. He nodded. "Very nice."

"Yeah, it is," Tom said, replacing his glass on the table. They enjoyed their appetizer and finished just in time for their next courses to be delivered to the table-soup and salad.

The Quantum Ranger chuckled softly. "Well, guess you're gonna be getting your veggies today, huh Doc?"

"I guess so," he grinned. "I think I'm gonna be needing my strength for the rest of this weekend. Good thing we're eating well," he added with a wink.

"Oh yeah, gonna need the strength, especially for later." He took a drink of wine before starting in on the soup.

"I'll hold you to that," Tom said, picking up his spoon. "Especially when you're tied to the headboard..."

"Oh really? And here I thought you wanted to be handcuffed and blindfolded."

"That too," he replied, raising an eyebrow. "Eat your soup."

Shaking his head, Eric grinned and went back to eating.

-o-O-o-

With the last of dessert wiped clean of the plate and their coffees finished, Eric chuckled softly at his lover. "So, feel up to a small walk or am I going to have to get a cart and roll you back to the cabin?"

Sitting back in his chair, Tom rubbed his full stomach. "Man...I am absolutely stuffed. Don't know if I can walk!"

"Well, if you can't walk, how are you going be able to do anything else once we get back to the cabin?"

"I'll recover... don't you worry about that. I have no doubt that we'll work off all this dinner tonight and tomorrow," he replied with a wink.

"If you're sure." He grinned, and then stood up and offered his hand to the other man. "Ready?"

"Yeah, let's go," Tom said, taking Eric's hand and slowly getting to his feet. He turned and looked at the man in the grey suit that his boyfriend had said was staring at them. Tommy smiled at the man as they walked by, still grasping Eric's hand.

Eric leaned over and pressed a kiss to Tom's cheek before opening the door that led to the path going back to the cabin. "So short way or long?"

"Long, I think-need to walk off some of that incredible dinner. That was a good suggestion of Jase's, don'tcha think?"

"I think both of the ones that he's made so far were good, especially about bringing you up here." He was quiet for a moment. "Guess I'm going to have to actually thank ole Rex."

Tommy noted something in Eric's voice that shouldn't have been there. Stopping on the path and turning his boyfriend's face toward him, he asked, "Eric... what is it?"

"Guess I'm just a bit jealous, you know? I mean..." He sighed. "I was getting ideas from everyone about how to make this weekend special because I wanted you to know that I love you and celebrating things, like your birthday, needs to be special."

"But why would that make you jealous? It just shows that you care enough to find out what would make me happy, right?"

"Yeah, but there's still so much I want or need to learn and the only way I can do it is by spending more time with you. On our weekends together, we spend most of the time in bed-not that I'm complaining about that-but it doesn't leave much room for anything else."

Tommy smiled, blushing slightly. "Yeah, we do act like rabbits when we're together, don't we?"

"And like I said, I don't mind that because most of the time we only really have Saturday as a full day. Friday evening whoever's doing the driving is usually tired, Saturday we really re-connect and then the last bit of time we have together is Sunday morning or maybe just after lunch."

"Well we do talk on the phone-you can ask me anything you want. If you feel like you don't know me as well as you'd like, we can fix that. And it won't be that long before we're together every day."

He nodded. "And I know that I don't need to be jealous of Jason, but I guess sometimes I remember all the years you two spent together, as both friends and then lovers." He stepped closer to the man that held his heart. "Makes me wonder if we're going to get that same kind of knowledge of each other."

"We will, I promise," Tom said, slipping his arms around Eric's trim waist. "And you're right; you don't need to be jealous of Jase or anybody else. I told you, you're the one I love- the one I want to spend my life with." He leaned in and gave his lover a soft kiss.

Standing there beneath the moonlight, under the snow laden branches of the pines, Eric relaxed into the kiss. Some of the doubt he'd been feeling lifted as he let Tommy set the pace with the kiss.

When the former commander felt his boyfriend submitting to him, he gently deepened the kiss, completely oblivious to the fact that they were standing outside with snow falling all around them. "Mmm," he moaned into Eric's mouth as he explored that warm cavern that he knew so well.

The Quantum Ranger's hands slid to the small of the former Ranger Commander's back. He offered no resistance to his partner, letting the other man have control.

A noise a few feet away reminded them that they were in public and they slowly broke the kiss. Foreheads touching and both of them smiling, they just gazed at each other for a minute or two while they caught their breath. "Let's take that walk now... I need to let some of that dinner settle before we get back to the cabin. You're all mine tonight," Tommy whispered with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Looking forward to being yours." He took hold of Tommy's hand and started down the path once again. He chuckled softly when his partner tilted his head back and opened his mouth to catch some of the falling snow. "You're such a kid sometimes."

"Yep!" the legendary ranger said with a big grin. "You don't mind, do ya? I kinda got the feeling that you like the kid in me."

"No, I don't mind at all. Just keeps you young. And I'm serious enough for the both of us as it is."

Tommy sighed deeply, feigning irritation. "You sure are- you need to lighten up, bud," he said with a mock scowl and then laughed in spite of himself.

Shaking his head and grinning, the Quantum Ranger slapped his lover lightly on the ass. "Behave or I'll have to punish you later."

"Oooh, that sounds promising!" Tom replied, wagging his eyebrows. "And just what kind of punishment are you gonna give the teacher, hmmm?" Just to irritate Eric, he grabbed the next snow-laden branch that they walked under and caused it to drop its load on his boyfriend's head and shoulders.

Gasping, Eric's eyes shot open and he turned to face his lover. For a moment he said nothing, and then he grinned ferally. "Want to play that way, huh?" He quickly grabbed hold of Tommy once again, and then picked up a handful of snow and dropped it down the other man's shirt.

"Oh!" he exclaimed as the cold, rapidly melting stuff slid down his warm chest and stomach only to spread out around his beltline. "Ha... that's cold! You asshole!" he cried, pulling his now wet shirt away from his skin.

The Guardian Commander chuckled softly. "Now you know how I feel. And I have a lot more snow down my shirt."

"Okay fine... we're even. Let's start back toward the cabin before we freeze!" Tommy said, closing his jacket tightly around him to keep the cold wind from getting to his wet shirt. As they walked, they looked at each other and giggled. "Are you sure we're not seventeen-year olds? Cause that's just like something my students would do!"

"Guess we're both just kids at heart." They laughed for a bit as they made their way to the cabin. Once inside, Eric headed for the bedroom. "Come on, we need to dry off."

"Right behind ya," Tom replied, already pulling off his jacket. Once inside the bedroom, he tossed his suit jacket on the bed and started unbuttoning his damp shirt. "Oh look... the little elves have already gotten a fire going," he remarked, pointing toward the little fireplace in the bedroom.

"You could say that." He tossed his own jacket over a chair in the room and walked towards the fireplace. He grinned when he spotted the items that were waiting. "Seems they left a couple of presents as well."

"Oh? What's that?" Tom moved over to join his lover in front of the fire. "What did you do now?" he grinned.

"Nothing much. I just ordered a few massage oils, some pre-warmed lube and maybe some body chocolate for my resident chocoholic."

"Oh damn... they must think we're the horniest couple in the state," he grinned, picking up the chocolate and examining it.

"I doubt it. And it's something they add to the cabins after dinner each night. For regular couples they add a few other things."

"Regular couples? Does that make us irregular?" he kidded.

"No, but's it's easier to say that than heterosexual couples."

"Granted," Tom said and then turned back towards the bed. "Oh look, they've turned down our bed for us too. Wonder if they did anything out in the living room that I didn't notice." Tossing his wet shirt on top of his jacket, he walked out into the other room.

Tossing his own shirt aside, Eric followed him, and then came up behind Tommy and wrapped his arms around his partner. "You like?" Beside the other fireplace, the blankets that had been there the night before were replaced with clean ones. A bottle of wine rested in a bucket of ice and a small, wrapped package sat in the middle of the blankets.

Laying his head back on Eric's shoulder, Tom smiled warmly. "Oh yeah... everything is just sooo nice. Thanks again for such a wonderful birthday present, baby."

"Well, you have another present over there waiting for you."

"I see that. Want me to open it now?"

"Yes." Eric leaned in and placed a kiss behind his lover's ear. "I want to see your reaction."

Gently pulling away from Eric's arms, Tommy stepped over and picked up the beautifully wrapped gift and sat down on the nearby couch. "It's done up so well that I hate to open it," he said, smiling up at his anxiously awaiting boyfriend.

"Well, I think you'll enjoy what's inside a whole lot more."

"Yeah, me too," he smiled and began to pull the tail of the silver bow, letting the wide ribbon fall into his hand. Placing it aside, he found the seam of the paper and starting opening it, smiling over at Eric who had joined him on the couch. "Is this something you arranged or did you pick it out yourself?"

"No, this I picked out myself and had wrapped. Then I told them where it would be and where to put it."

"Oh, okay. I'm sure I'll love it," Tom said with a warm smile, his eyes twinkling. He discarded the paper and found a small black jewelry box which he slowly opened. Inside, lying on black velvet was a thick silver necklace with an intricate sterling and turquoise arrowhead hanging from it. "Oh my... Eric..." Tommy gasped his eyes wide.

Reaching over, Eric took it from him and undid the clasp. "I remember you telling me about the one you used to wear, but were afraid of it getting damaged if you kept wearing it." He moved so that he could put the necklace on his lover. "And I know what your heritage means to you." After putting the necklace on Tommy, he placed a light kiss on the back of the man's neck. "So I thought that this would make the perfect gift."

"It's gorgeous... where did you ever find anything like this?" he asked, holding it gently in his fingers.

"Remember that weekend we had plans, but I couldn't make it? We were following a suspect and ended up close to the Reservation. I convinced Wes to make a stop. Found it there and even got Sam to bless it."

"I remember that, yeah. Eric... this is just beautiful. Does it look okay on me?" he asked, letting the arrowhead rest against his olive skin.

"Oh yeah, definitely looks good." He leaned in and kissed him softly. "I'm glad you like it."

"Where's a mirror? I want to see this... David will be so jealous!" he grinned and got up, walking over to the big mirror on the living room wall. "Oooh, I like... thank you so much, Bear," he said, eyes still sparkling.

"Well, then I'm glad I had to cancel that weekend." He got up and walked over to his boyfriend. "And yes, your brother will be jealous of it."

Turning around from admiring his new pendant, Tommy slipped his arms around Eric's shoulders and pulled him in close. "Love you, babe," he said in a deep, sultry voice. "Want me to show you how much?"

"Mmm, most definitely." He leaned in and pressed his lips to the warm, soft ones of the man he loved.

After letting the kiss deepen slightly, Tom pulled back and whispered, "Let's go to bed then... I've got a few things I wanna do to you... you know, to show my appreciation." He then took Eric by the hand and led him slowly to the already prepared bedroom.

-o-O-o-

_Authors' Notes: Please don't forget to review! We want to know what you think! Chapter 3 will be coming along very soon!_


	3. Masters of Mayhem

**A Ranger Retreat**

**By**

**A Warrior's Prophet**

**Disclaimer****: See Chapter 1**

**Authors' Notes****: **Again, we apologize for taking so long between chapters. Life, ya know…

**Chapter 3****— Masters of Mayhem **

Eric tipped the room service waiter and shut the door behind the man, and then went over and joined his lover at the table. After making himself a plate off of the cart, he took a seat. "So what do you want to do today?"

Tom put down his juice glass after taking a long sip. "Man, that's good...fresh squeezed. Umm, as far as today goes...I don't know. You're the tour guide," he said with a grin.

"Well, we've got a couple of choices." He took a drink of his own juice. "That is good." He grinned back at his boyfriend. "We can go cross-country skiing."

"You ever done that?" the former commander asked, putting sausage links and eggs on his plate, "Cause I haven't..."

"No, but it could be fun. Slow, but fun." He chuckled softly. "Another option is to go snowmobiling."

A slow grin started in the corners of Tommy's mouth and quickly spread across his face. Looking up and meeting Eric's eyes, they said in unison while nodding, "Snowmobiling!"

Taking a seat at the table, still laughing, Tom looked at Eric while he picked up his fork. "Did you pack something appropriate for us?"

"Well, you didn't really have a lot of cold weather gear. So, I think a stop at the lodge's store will be necessary first."

"True. I'm a beach boy-never really had much use for snow gear. I'm sure you're well-equipped, huh?"

"Well, I wasn't, but since I did know where we were going, I bought a few things. Guess I thought you'd have more until I actually started packing your bag." He grinned. "But yeah, you're definitely a beach boy. Well, except you don't have blonde hair."

Tommy gave him an odd look. "Can you imagine what a freak I would look like with blonde hair? Ugh," he said with a shiver.

Eric laughed softly. "You might be right about that. Although, I think you'd look good in a wet suit with a board under your arm."

Replacing his coffee cup in its saucer, Tommy said nonchalantly, "I do, actually."

"Have to see that for myself. Get a picture of it." He grinned and started eating again.

"Sure...next time we're at the beach. I'd like to get a picture of you on one of David's stallions...shirtless...bareback...in the surf. Whatcha think?" he asked with a wink.

"I think you might have to teach me how to ride a horse first. It's one of the few things I've never done."

"Not a problem. Between me and David, I'm sure we can work that out."

"Then I say that it's a date." He grinned and winked at the other man.

"Nice. So...what do you think I might need to buy at the lodge's shop?"

"Well, your jeans are fine, but you might want some thermals to go under them. I'll probably get a pair of those myself. And if you don't want to use your hiking boots, we can get you a pair of boots. You'll definitely want some warmer socks."

"Alright. Umm, have you ever ridden a snowmobile?"

"Couple of times in the Rangers. We had to learn as part of our winter survival training."

Tommy nodded. "Anything like riding a wave runner?"

"Yeah, a lot like that just heavier. We'll get a short intro course once we get to the rental place."

"Good," he laughed. "Don't wanna embarrass myself."

"I don't think that'll happen." He finished eating and set his plate aside. "So once you're done, we'll get dressed and visit the shop."

"Deal." After breakfast was finished and they'd gotten dressed, the boys made their way up to the main lodge to see about acquiring some cold weather clothes.

Eric chuckled softly at a pair of red wool long johns, complete with butt flap. "As cute as these are, I just don't see you in them."

"If they had feet, they'd look like something I had when I was five!" Tommy laughed. "But no, I think these would work better," he said, holding up a pair of silk blend, thin thermals that would fit nicely under his close-fitting jeans.

Walking over, Eric looked at the thermals, and then nodded. "Yeah, those will work well." He picked a pair for himself as well. "So, socks and then we'll look at a pair of boots for you."

"Great, let's go look," he said, heading over to the footwear section of the shop. After glancing around for a few minutes, he frowned and looked at Eric. "Man, these things are expensive..."

"Better the expense be here than the medical bills necessary to treat frostbite."

"Okay, true that," Tommy said and turned back to the row of boots on the wall. Picking up one he liked, he showed it to his partner. "How 'bout these? I know nothing about snow boots-they look good, though," he grinned.

Chuckling softly, Eric shook his head. "Those are more for skiing or snowboarding." He walked over a bit and pointed to a section that had less clunky looking boots to choose from. "Any of these will work fine with the right socks."

Looking down the wall, the former Ranger Commander chose a black and grey pair that he found attractive. "These'll work? Even with thick socks?"

"Yeah, you just get them a half size bigger than what you need unless they already feel big in your regular size. Otherwise your toes get cramped. You also won't tighten the laces as much as you normally would."

"Alright," he said and turned to the sales girl who had come over to help. "Can I try these in a size-11, please?" he asked with a smile.

She nodded. "I'll be back in just a minute." With a grin, she disappeared into the back to get the appropriate size.

Eric walked over to a selection of socks and picked out 2 pairs. He brought them back and handed one to his boyfriend. "Try these on with the shoes."

After the boots had been chosen and everything paid for, they made their way back toward their cabin to change. "Okay Myers, I just spent $180 on a pair of winter boots...you have to promise me that I'll get to wear them more than once!" Tommy grinned.

The Guardian Commander chuckled softly. "I promise you'll get more use out of them than this one time."

After changing their clothes to add the thermals, heavy socks and put their boots on, both men grinned at each other. "So," Eric started, "Ready to go for a ride?"

"Oh yeah, I'm really excited about it-just hope I don't crash and burn," Tom said with a grin, zipping up his coat.

"Well, even if you do, as long as you don't hit a tree, the landing will be soft." He grinned and walked over to the former White Ranger. "Then I'll kiss any owies and make them better."

A laugh burst forth from him before he could stop it. "Awww... pwwomise?" Tommy answered in his best five-year old voice, looking up at his boyfriend.

Laughing softly, Eric leaned in and kissed the other man. "Pwomise."

"Okay then, let's go. Are we leaving from the main lodge?" he asked, opening the door of the cabin.

"Yeah, there should be a shuttle bus that takes us over to the rental place. Then it'll be back for us later this afternoon."

"And you've already got it arranged, I'm guessing."

The Quantum Ranger nodded. "I told them to hold reservations for us for both the cross-country skiing and the snowmobiling. That way we had spaces in both. While you were trying on your boots, I talked with the concierge and told him our choice." He grinned. "We'll even have an afternoon snack on the shuttle bus for us when it picks us up."

"You're spoiling me, Bear. How am I gonna go home to my lonely house and tired old job after living like this for a weekend?" he asked with a grin.

"Well, just remember that once you're out of that lonely old house and tired old job, you'll be living with me in a very active job that I think you'll really like and we'll be able to do stuff like this more often."

Tommy couldn't help but smile. He slipped an arm around Eric's waist as they walked. "That is such a nice thought...I just can't tell you how nice..." He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his partner's temple.

"I'm glad you liked it because it'll be the truth in a few months." He sighed softly. "And I can't wait for it."

"Me either. It'll be great to be together every day." He paused as they reached the main lodge and went inside. The aromas coming from one of the restaurants reminded Tommy of something. "So, who gets to cook?" he added with a laugh, knowing that neither of them were very good at it.

"Guess we'll be learning. Either that or we'll have to get one of those services that does the cooking for you." He chuckled softly. "Maybe talk Rocky into some cooking lessons."

"Not a bad idea...Rocky is an awfully good cook. Have you ever tried his lasagna? Man..." Tom licked his lips just from the memory. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping us out some. It'd give him a chance to hang out in Silver Hills with Adam, after all."

"True." He grinned as they reached the shuttle van and nodded to the driver. "You ready to do this, Falcon?"

"You know it! Let's go!" the former ranger commander said with an excited smile as he climbed into the van.

Nodding at the driver, Eric slid in beside his boyfriend. "All right then, let's get this show on the road."

-o-O-o-

Driving through the winding, narrow roads so high up in the mountains, Tommy found himself mesmerized by the passing scenery. The drive from the lodge to the rental shop was at least twenty minutes and he sat back and took everything in.

Sitting beside the legendary ranger, Eric remained silent. He knew that his lover was enjoying the view and was happy to let the man that held his heart make as many memories as he wanted.

Once the van had descended the mountain a ways, the land became more level and open. There were fields and forests on both sides of the road. Tommy thought that it looked like it could be farmland in the warmer months of the year. Several minutes later, they arrived at a large building that resembled a huge log cabin.

"Here we are, gentlemen," the driver said, turning and giving them a smile. Just call when you're ready to be picked up, okay?" He handed a card to Eric as they got out of the van.

"See you at 4." Getting out, the Quantum Ranger looked over at his partner, grinning. "Ready to go tear up some of this beautiful snow?"

"Absolutely. Fine time to ask, but did you bring your camera?" he responded with a grin as they made their way to the front door of the shop.

Patting one of his pockets, the other man nodded. "Wasn't going to forget it."

They walked inside and while Eric took care of business with the attendant, Tommy stood beside his boyfriend, looking around. _'Wow, this is a big operation,' _he thought.

Coming back over with one of the staff, Eric grinned at Tommy. "Tom, this is Carl. He's gonna show us to our snowmobiles and give us some instruction on them."

He looked up and grinned. "Good, cause this beach boy doesn't have much experience on snow," he laughed. "Lead on."

Carl laughed lightly. "Don't worry. We have trails that you can follow using GPS devices on the machines themselves. Plus, there are radios on board that will reach us back here no matter where you are on the trails." He led them out back and showed them to two machines: one red and one black. "These are the ones you'll be using and the GPS is preset for one of the more scenic, flatter trails."

"Very nice," Tom smiled, looking over at Eric. "I'm assuming the black one is mine, Red," he laughed.

Rolling his eyes, he laughed. "Yeah, think that one fits you a bit better." He shook his head and chuckled softly before taking a seat on the red one.

Tommy seated himself on the big machine and got comfortable. Before Carl started giving them instructions, the former commander leaned over so that Eric could hear him clearly. "Just so you remember who was Red first, Bucko."

Grinning wickedly, the Quantum Ranger met the dark, chocolate eyes. "Yeah, but who's still wearing it?" He winked and then turned his attention to Carl.

Mouthing the word 'bitch', Tommy, too, turned his attention to the man who was going to hopefully keep them from breaking their necks. _'He'll pay for that later-just wait,'_ he thought, wearing an evil grin.

Carl nodded as both men demonstrated how to start and stop the machines, plus all the gears. They'd also been shown how to make turns and dig themselves out of soft snow. With their short intro course complete, he shot them both a grin. "All right guys, you're all set. Just remember to turn your GPS units on before you start out from here so that they can calibrate to your trail."

"You got it," the former Green Ranger said, smiling over at his partner. He reached up to turn on the GPS unit and make sure the chinstrap on his helmet was snug. "Let's go!" he said, starting out slowly and heading toward the trail.

Waving at their instructor, Eric did the same and followed his partner out into the vast expanse of snow covered fields.

After about 15 minutes, Eric pulled up beside his boyfriend and signaled him to stop. When they were both at a standstill, he grinned. "Want to get some shots from here." He unzipped his jacket pocket and started pulling his camera out.

"It sure is beautiful out here...like a postcard. We've definitely gotta come back up here sometime," he said, still gazing out at the picturesque landscape.

"They offer horseback riding and fly fishing during the summer." He took several shots, including one of his lover gazing out into the distance from the back of the snowmobile.

"So how about we plan a trip back up here in the summer to celebrate us moving in together?" He stopped and laughed. "Sorta like a honeymoon, I guess."

"We can do that. Use it as a sort of vacation from moving in and getting everything settled before we toss you into the mix as an instructor."

"Sounds like a plan. Now, how about we tear up some more of this trail?" he asked, pulling the visor back down over his eyes.

Putting the camera back, the Guardian Commander rolled his eyes, and then pulled his goggles back into position. "Okay then, let's go."

The next part of the trail took them through a wooded area. Tommy was very careful to steer clear of the trees and bushes along the way. No wildlife could be seen along the trail-probably scared off by the sound of the engines, he thought. Once they'd cleared the trees, he pulled over and let Eric pull up beside him. "According to the GPS, this is about halfway. Wanna lead for the last half?"

"Sure, but let's get a few shots from here as well." He grinned. "I'm sure this will all be really beautiful this summer as well."

"Oh yeah, absolutely. One thing though...I'm gonna have to take you out to the res a couple of times before then so that David and I can teach you to ride."

He blushed slightly. "Yeah, wouldn't do for me to look like a total beginner when we come back out here."

"Well no, but the point is to keep you from getting hurt. Horses can be tricky, ya know. Mind of their own and all that..."

He raised an eyebrow. "Kind of like Technicolor rangers?"

Now it was Tommy's turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. But no more so than Silver Guardian Commanders who still like to run around in red spandex." He punctuated that by sticking his tongue out at his lover and chuckling.

Shaking his head, Eric shook a finger at his lover. "Keep it up and I'll give you a face washing in the snow."

"Promises, promises..." Tom said, putting his visor back on. He motioned for them to head on and he let Eric go in front this time. Not too much further down the trail-only about ten minutes-the Quantum Ranger tried to take a curve a little too fast and ended up tipping the snowmobile over, throwing him into the snow. "Oh shit!" Tom exclaimed, quickly coming to a stop and vaulting from his machine to go and see about his boyfriend. "Eric! Are you okay?"

Sighing softly, the older man removed his helmet and goggles, lying in the snow. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thought I had that turn."

Tommy had come to a stop over the top of the Quantum Ranger. "You sure? Nothing hurts?" he asked, still plenty concerned for his lover.

"I'm a little cold, so asking me that right now probably isn't a good time." He held his arm up. "Help me up."

"Okay, here we go," he said, taking hold of Eric's arm and starting to pull. Unbeknownst to him though, he was standing on ice that was only lightly covered with powdery snow. As he shifted his weight to pull, his foot slipped on the ice and Tommy went crashing down on top of Eric, his elbow landing in the vicinity of the man's right eye.

"Shit!" Groaning, the Guardian Commander's hand flew to his eye. He didn't say anything for several moments. Raising his head slightly, he looked through his left eye at Tommy. "You okay?"

A sharp pain radiated through the wrist that Tommy had fallen on, trying to catch himself. He rolled the rest of the way off of Eric and held the painful appendage to his chest. "Think I messed up my wrist," he groaned.

Sitting up, Eric pulled his legs in a bit and turned to face his lover. "Let me see it." He wasn't a paramedic or anything, but he knew enough to be able to tell if something was sprained or broken. Taking careful hold of his boyfriend's wrist, he gently examined it. "Don't think it's broken, but it's definitely sprained."

Tommy winced again. "Great. How am I supposed to steer that snowmobile back to the shop with a bum wrist?"

"How about we use the radio to call back and tell them what happened? Or we can double back on mine and they can use the GPS to come back for the other one."

Tommy considered this for a moment while gently rubbing his wrist. "I think I'll ride back with you-we're more than halfway back anyway. They can come and pick up mine."

Nodding, the Quantum Ranger pulled a bandana from his pocket. "Here, it's not a lot, but it'll support your wrist a bit for the ride back." Taking hold of the injured limb once again, he wrapped the bandana around Tom's wrist, crossing it once over his palm. "All right, let's get back."

Just then, Tommy, who had been concentrating solely on his own injury, looked up into Eric's face and saw where his elbow had connected. "Oh baby...your eye. I'm so sorry," he apologized and touched Eric's cheek gently with his good hand. "Does it hurt much?"

"A little. Least it's stopped tearing up on me." He leaned in and kissed Tommy softly. "Come on, when we get back to the cabin we can pamper each other a bit."

"Okay...this is embarrassing," he groaned as Eric helped him up. He continued to cradle his arm while his partner brushed the snow off the both of them. "Hope we can get back to the shop without anything else happening."

"We'll take it slow and easy on the way back." He put his helmet and goggles back on after helping Tommy with his, and then righted his snowmobile and climbed on, scooting forward so that his partner could join him.

Tommy climbed onto the back of Eric's machine and gingerly wrapped his bad arm around his partner who carefully slipped Tommy's hand into the pocket of his jacket. "I'll hang on as tightly as I can, just don't go too fast."

"I don't plan on it." He hadn't said anything yet, but the fall had started his back to hurting again. Starting the machine, he headed slowly back to the rental place.

Once they arrived, they both slowly climbed off the red snowmobile and Eric helped Tommy get his helmet off after removing his own. Carl came trotting over almost immediately. "What happened? Did the other one quit on ya?"

Eric shook his head. "No, I took a turn too fast and flipped it. Then Tommy slipped trying to help me up and hurt his wrist."

"Damn ice," the former White Ranger grumbled, cradling his arm. That wrist was really beginning to swell and hurt by this time.

"You guys okay?" Carl asked, noticing Tommy's arm and Eric's eye.

"We will be. The ski patrol base back at the lodge has a small clinic. Figure we can get his wrist checked out there. Right now, I think things just look worse than they are." He blushed slightly. "But we wouldn't say 'no' to a couple of ice packs."

"Sorry about having to leave the other snowmobile out on the trail. I just couldn't steer it with this wrist," Tommy said, shaking his head.

"Oh please, don't worry about that. We'll run right out there and get it. You guys just get yourselves taken care of. Head right in the back door here and ask for my wife, Janey-she'll fix you right up," Carl said.

"Appreciate it, Carl." Eric put his arm around Tom's waist and led him towards the door.

Inside the back of the shop, the boys found Janey and she got some ice packs for them. She even put some bruise cream on Eric's eye for him. "Not to worry, fellas-I've seen much, much worse," she said with a motherly smile.

The Guardian Commander grinned. "Thanks Janey." He used the Ace wrap she'd given him to wrap Tommy's wrist, and then handed him the ice pack.

"What time is it? Shouldn't the driver from the lodge be here soon?" Tommy asked, looking like he was in need of something for pain.

Checking his watch, Eric nodded. "Yeah, he should be here any minute." He raised an eyebrow. "How bad is it hurting you?"

"It's stinging pretty good. I'll be okay, though-might need a pain killer or two for later. Things always hurt more at night," he said, holding the ice pack in place. "How's your eye feeling?" he asked, blushing slightly.

"It's not hurting that bad." He looked over at Janey. "Have any Tylenol?"

"Sure do, Sweetie. Gimme just a second," she said, heading into the office and coming back a minute later with a bottle. "Here ya go," and with that she shook two capsules out into Eric's hand. "Do you need some too, Honey?" she asked Tommy.

"No ma'am-I think I need something stronger. I'm sure I'll get all fixed up as soon as we get back to the lodge. Thank you, though."

Eric shook his head. "Take a couple, Tom. No matter what they give you back at the lodge, it won't hurt them to mix and it'll take the edge off." He took the capsules she handed him with a drink of water from the bottle she had given him earlier.

"Yes sir," he said, holding out his hand to Janey. "Bossman says I need 'em," he said, trying to grin a little.

"It'll help in the long run, Tommy." He grinned. "Besides, I tried to refuse the other day and Jason about jumped my tail across the compound and back."

"He'll do that...you'll soon learn him and his mother hen ways," Tom responded.

"So I'm seeing." He chuckled softly. After Janey had handed his stubborn lover a couple of the pills and the former Green Ranger had chased them with some water, they thanked her again and headed out to meet the van driver. "You really feel okay other than your wrist?"

"Yeah, as far as I can tell right now. Probably get achy tonight, though." He paused and watched Eric for a moment. "How are you...really?"

He sighed softly. "Think I twisted a bit when I landed, so it didn't help my back any. Other than that and my eye hurting a bit, I'm okay."

"Damn...and I can't even give you a massage because of this freakin' wrist. Maybe we can get the masseur back down to help you out."

"Maybe, but I'm really looking forward to sitting in the hot tub for a bit first. Then let the masseur work."

"Okay, hot tub it is. Right after I get this checked out," Tommy responded, indicating his wrapped wrist. "You said there was a ski patrol station nearby? They can look at my wrist?"

"The lodge has a ski patrol base not even a half mile away. They have a fully staffed clinic there." Eric looked into his boyfriend's eyes. "And we both get checked out before the hot tub, okay? I want to make sure neither one of us are hurt worse than we think."

"Deal," he said, nodding. "Here comes the van." Then he sighed and mumbled, "So embarrassing."

"It could be worse." He chuckled softly. "We could have gone snowboarding and broke a leg amongst all those young kids."

"Aww man," he groaned, shaking his head. "Let's just get back to the lodge with the other 'old folks'," he remarked with a half-hearted chuckle.

Opening the door, Eric helped the other man inside the van, and then joined him. He grinned when the driver handed him a small picnic basket. "Thank you." He looked over at Tommy. "Ready for a small snack?"

"Yeah, I suppose so. A little food might help me feel better."

"Well, it's not so much food." He opened the basket and pulled out a thermos plus two small bags. "Swiss hot chocolate and warm chocolate chip cookies with white chocolate chunks and macadamia nuts."

"Mmmm, looks like food to me," Tommy responded, his eyes brightening.

The Quantum Ranger chuckled softly. "That's the chocoholic speaking." He looked at the driver. "Can we stop at the ski patrol base? Need to visit the clinic."

"Absolutely, you fellas okay?" he asked and then noticed Eric's eye and Tommy's arm. "On my way," he said, putting the van in gear and heading out of the parking lot.

"For the most part we are." Opening the thermos, Eric pulled one of the travel mugs out of the basket and poured some of the hot beverage into it before handing it to Tommy. "Here. Maybe with something in your stomach, whatever they give you won't make you sick."

"That's a happy thought...thanks," he said, shooting Eric an odd look. "I'm sure I'll be fine-I tolerate pain killers pretty well."

He snorted. "Glad one of us does. Tylenol, stuff like that, I'm fine with. Get much stronger than that, depending on what it is and not so much."

"Oh...you mean like you can't hold your liquor," Tommy chuckled, remembering the last time they got drunk together. "You're a lightweight, you know that?"

Blushing slightly, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, like that." He sighed softly and poured the rest of the cocoa into his own mug, and then held one of the cookie bags out to the other man. "Cookie?"

"Thanks," Tommy said, taking one of the large, gourmet treats and immediately taking a large bite. "Mmmm...that's really good."

"Yeah, Adam passed some of them out when he got back with Jason. Figured you'd like it given your sweet tooth." He winked at him and took a cookie for himself.

"You know it," he mumbled, his mouth half full of cookie. "What's for lunch?"

"You mean dinner? Or are you that hungry?"

"I'm pretty hungry, yeah. That breakfast we had is long gone," he said, taking another sip of his hot chocolate.

"Okay, so we can have a light lunch or one of their appetizer samplers while we enjoy the hot tub?"

"That'll definitely work. But seriously, what's for dinner?" the former ranger commander asked again, beginning to feel a little better.

"Well, we try the other, less formal restaurant in the lodge or we can get room service and eat in the cabin." He leaned over and whispered in his lover's ear in a warm, sultry voice. "And we can eat in whatever we want."

Tommy gave a low chuckle. "I like that idea. Besides, not sure how we're gonna feel later on anyway. Maybe we can try that other restaurant tomorrow."

"Maybe." He shifted a bit closer to his boyfriend and put an arm around his shoulder. "I'm sorry you got hurt."

"Oh, I'll be fine. I don't think it's all that bad." He looked up into Eric's face. "Sorry about your eye, Bear."

"My eye will heal." He grinned. "Can always tell them that I got it defending your honor."

In spite of the pain he was still in, Tom couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Oh? And just how would that happen, pray tell."

"I don't know. Maybe 'gray suit' tried to put the moves on you."

"And my big, intimidating boyfriend had to puff out his chest and take care of things, huh? Don't know if Jase, Adam, and Wes will buy that."

He grinned. "We'll see." As the van came to a stop in front of the ski patrol base, he put their empty mugs back into the basket before turning to the driver. "Should we just call when we're done?"

"Yeah, that'll be fine. We can be here in just a few minutes to pick you up. Hope everything's alright-they'll take good care of you in there."

"Thank you," Tommy said, shifting over to get out. "Come on, O' Chivalrous One," he added in his partner's direction.

Eric grinned and followed him out the door. Once inside the clinic, they approached the desk. "Hi, um..." He blushed a bit then chuckled softly. "We had a bit of an accident with our snowmobiles."

The man running the desk chuckled softly. "Believe it or not, happens a lot. Least you didn't let it run you over." He handed Eric a clipboard. "There are two forms on it, one for each of you. Once you've got them filled out, bring them back up and we'll get you checked out. Neither one of you are bleeding anywhere at the moment are you?"

"No, no bleeding. Just a black eye and possibly tweaked back for him and a bad wrist for me," Tommy said, trying not to sound embarrassed but he was having difficulty.

"Not a problem. Go ahead and fill out the forms, and then we'll get you guys taken care of."

Eric nodded. "Thank you." He walked over to some chairs with Tommy and took a seat. "Least Jason isn't here. We'd never live this down."

Tom rolled his eyes. "Oh my god...we're still never gonna hear the end of it," he grumbled. "Here, give me one of the forms."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to hurt that wrist any worse."

"Yeah, I'm sure. I can just hold the clipboard with my bad hand."

"All right." He handed the form and clipboard over to him and got up to get another clipboard. They finished the forms in silence then went back up to the desk. "Here you go."

Taking the papers, the man nodded, and then stood up. "If you'll follow me, we'll get you guys looked at it." He led them back to an exam room. "Figured you guys wouldn't mind sharing."

"No, that's fine," Tommy said. Once the attendant had left, he turned to Eric. "You know, it's gonna be hard to go back to reality-where you and I have to act like best friends in public."

The Quantum Ranger sighed softly. "I know, but that won't be until tomorrow evening when we get back to Reefside."

"Yeah...guess we'll just have to enjoy it while we can, huh?" He looked down at his injured wrist and winced, shaking his head. "Damn it."

Before Eric could reply, a tall blonde stepped through the door. He raised an eyebrow at Eric's eye, and then grinned. "Did you hit a tree first or was it a Keystone Kops routine?"

Eric groaned. "Actually, it was his elbow. He slipped trying to help me up after I bought it on a curve. Thus, his probably sprained wrist."

Tommy sat quietly, turning three shades of red.

"Well, I'm Joe and I'm the doctor here." He grinned. "Pretty decent gig and I don't have to deal with all the hassle of a big hospital." He walked over to Tommy. "Let's get a look at your wrist first, make sure it's just a sprain." Carefully, he started unwrapping the Ace bandage.

"And what he didn't tell you was when he took the header off the snowmobile, there's a great possibility that he wrenched his back," Tommy said, getting back at his boyfriend.

Joe raised an eyebrow. "Well, we'll give you both a thorough exam, I promise." He frowned slightly as he examined Tom's left wrist. "I want to get some X-rays of your wrist. While it might be a bad sprain, there's also the chance you could have a small fracture."

"Oh lovely. I'm not gonna have to wear a cast, am I? My students will never let me hear the end of it," Tommy said.

"No, as long as it's not a serious break, you can wear a brace. We'll give you two and one is a bit more flexible so you can use it in the shower."

Tommy nodded even as Eric spoke up. "Never knew high school teachers were that vain, didja?" he asked the doctor.

"Oh shut up," Tommy mumbled.

The doctor chuckled softly. "Oh, I can believe it. Should see some of the other people that we get up here. Think lawyers are the worst." He opened the door. "Hey Steve, I got one for you that needs X-rays of the left wrist and hand. Go up to the elbow with them." He looked over at Tommy and nodded. "Step across the hall and Steve will take care of you. When you're done, just come back over. Knock first though."

"Alright, will do," the former White Ranger said, getting up from the examining table. "See you in a bit," he turned and said to Eric before walking out.

"Okay, I'll be here," Eric responded.

Joe shut the door behind the man, and then looked at Eric. "All right. So how bad is your back hurting?"

"Well, my lower back is where it's giving me the most problem. I've been pretty stiff and sore lately and this spill I took didn't help."

"Okay. I'm not gonna ask you to get on the table just yet, but I do want you to support yourself on your arms and lean on it a bit so that your back is kind of straight." Once Eric was in position, he started probing gently, but firmly on the man's back. "Do you have any old injuries that might cause you problems at times?"

"Nothing really serious, but I've been pretty hard on my body for years now. Martial arts, the Army, and now I work for the Silver Guardians down in Silver Hills. It's probably just cumulative."

The man nodded. When he pressed on an area of Eric's back on the lower left, he raised an eyebrow at the man's reaction. "I want to get some X-rays and MRI. Before I put you through that, I'd like to give you a mild muscle relaxer." He stepped back a bit. "Otherwise, you're gonna be extremely stiff when we get done."

"Alright, that's fine." A concerned look crossed his face. "You think something's wrong back there? My last physical didn't show anything."

"I don't think it's anything major or it'd have shown up by now. However, there is a chance that all the years of abuse you've put your body through has maybe knocked things around a bit. Add that to the spill you took today, and it's just a precaution. If I find something significant, I'll give you a copy of my findings to take back to your own doctor."

Eric nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Where you want me?" he asked, wondering whether to sit in the chair or hop up on the examining table.

"You can just stay there. I'll give you the shot in your hip and then we'll get the MRI first. After that, we'll get your X-rays." He walked over to a cabinet and unlocked it. "How is your tolerance for medications?"

Eric chuckled. "Well, according to Tommy, I'm a lightweight. It doesn't take much to put me out," he smiled.

"All right. What I'll give you is a mix of a mild pain reliever and muscle relaxer. Depending on what, if anything, I find, will determine what I give you afterwards." He drew up 2cc's of the meds in a syringe and grabbed an alcohol pad. "Now, cheek or hip?"

"Hip, I suppose," Eric said, beginning to undo his jeans. After he got them lowered a bit, he leaned across the table again. "Sorry if I jump a bit."

"Just relax." He opened the alcohol wipe and cleaned the area, and then quickly injected the meds. "All done." He got rid of the used syringe and looked over at the other man. "Take a seat on the table if you can and I'll go have Ted get the MRI ready." He left the room and went down the hall.

-o-O-o-

Tommy walked back into the room where he and Eric had been taken first. The X-Ray had shown that the former White Ranger had a hairline fracture in his left wrist, but aside from that and a badly bruised hip, that was the extent of the damage. Taking a seat in the chair, he noticed that the bed was missing, but thought nothing much about it at the moment. "So you're gonna show me how to put on this brace, right?" he asked the doctor.

Joe grinned. "Yeah, I will." He undid the straps and pulled the brace apart just a bit. "Okay, for the next 6-8 weeks, this is your best friend. I'm giving you another one so that you can swap them out to air a little and a soft brace so you can use that in the shower or hot tub. Either one is to be on your wrist at all times for the next four weeks. I'll give you a copy of your X-rays and chart. Make an appointment with your own doc for four weeks from now. He'll let you know if you can start taking it off to sleep or not." He showed the man how to put the brace on and adjusted it a bit. "It should be a little tight, but not enough to cut off circulation."

"Okay, I understand," he sighed and grimaced a bit. "Any chance I could get something for pain soon? It's really beginning to throb," he explained, indicating his arm.

"Rate the pain for me on a 1 to 10 scale."

"I guess it's about a 7 or so. More painful than I thought it'd be," Tommy answered, trying not to dwell on it because that only made it worse.

"Well, at least neither one of you are driving." He walked over to the cabinet. "Are you allergic to anything?"

"No, not that I'm aware of," Tom replied.

Drawing up a dose of meds into a syringe, the doctor took it back over to his patient. "This will help with the pain. It shouldn't make you drowsy, but if it does just go with it. I'll write you a prescription for a couple of painkillers. One will be mild that you can take during the day while you're at work, with Tylenol or Aleve in between. The other will be stronger that you can take at night or when you're not doing anything." He grinned. "Hip, butt or arm?"

"Hip please. Do you have any samples you can give me until we go home in a couple of days? Unless you have a pharmacy here," he said standing and loosening his pants so that the doctor could get to his hip.

"I can give you some samples of both, plus a muscle relaxer for your hip, but you shouldn't need that for long." As he talked, he gave his patient the shot. "The others you can get filled when you get back."

"Okay, that'll work. Any idea what's going on with Eric?" he asked in a concerned voice, redressing himself and sitting down.

Joe raised an eyebrow. "You do know that unless you're a spouse or relative, that I'm not technically supposed to tell you anything."

Tommy sighed. "Yeah, I know. We deal with problems like that all the time. No, I'm not married to or related to him-he's my partner...my boyfriend," he responded, looking directly into the doctor's eyes, waiting to see how he'd respond.

Sighing softly, the man nodded. "Aside from his eye, I found some tenderness on the lower left side of his back. Part of it is likely from the spill, but I think it could also be partly from an old injury acting up. I gave him a small dose of a mild muscle relaxer before he was taken to get a MRI and some X-rays of the area."

Relieved that the doctor actually had the confidence to give him the information, Tom gave him a small smile and nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate you telling me. Eric has always been rough on his body, so I don't doubt he's got some old injuries that could be acting up-probably army-related."

"From what he said, it's highly possible. Depending on what the tests show will determine how long I tell him he needs to take it easy for."

"Okay. I'll try my best to make him listen to you...he's a little hard-headed."

The man chuckled softly. "I kind of got that. Why don't you just take it easy and try to rest for a bit until they bring Eric back?"

"Yes sir, I'll try," Tommy said, settling in the chair and trying to keep the ice bag on his hip. Once the doctor had left, he began wondering what all could be wrong with his lover's back. _'I hope it's nothing serious-poor Bear.'_

-o-O-o-

Eric couldn't stop the small groan that escaped him as the X-ray tech tried to position him properly on the table to get the pictures he needed. He screwed his eyes shut and tried to relax.

Walking into the X-ray room, the doc looked down at his patient. "Eric, the tech told me that you were in some pain. How bad is it?"

"Having to lay flat on my back on this hard table is killing me. I can't seem to be still," the Quantum Ranger confessed.

"All right, I'm going to give you something for the pain. It'll work quickly, but it might put you to sleep. If it does, don't fight it."

Eric nodded and continued to try and relax. "How's Tommy?" he asked while the doctor was preparing the meds.

"He's got a hairline fracture in his left wrist and he was hurting a bit. I gave him something then came to check on you." He quickly injected the meds into Eric's hip. "Let that work and in a few minutes we'll get the pictures and get you off this hard table."

"Okay...but he's alright?" he asked, waiting for the meds to take effect.

"Yeah, he's okay. I gave him something for the pain. He's a little worried about you, but that's expected."

"Oh, I'll be fine-I wish he wouldn't worry," Eric said, sounding a bit sleepy.

Chuckling softly, the doctor looked down at him. "Kind of hard for people to do that with the people that they love. Relax now, Eric, and we'll be done before you know it."

Normally, the Guardian Commander would've reacted to that, but as the drugs had already started taking effect, he didn't. Before much longer, his dark eyes closed and his body relaxed.

Forty minutes later, two techs wheeled the bed Eric was on back into the room. After settling the bed, they left as Joe entered. He walked over to the light box and put the X-rays up on it, but didn't turn it on before going over to the bed. "He's just asleep. I had to give him something for the pain when we started getting the X-rays."

Despite his bruised hip, Tommy had jumped up the moment that the door had opened and he'd spotted Eric in the bed. "Just asleep? He's okay?"

"Not exactly okay, but it's not anything serious. I'm going to recommend that he take it easy for the next couple of weeks. I'll give you some samples of a muscle relaxer for him and a painkiller. I suggest he see his regular doctor when you guys get home."

Tommy nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking into Eric's sleeping face. He reached up and stroked the man's thick, black hair and caressed his cheek. A noise from behind reminded him that they weren't alone and he turned to look into the doctor's face. He blushed slightly and gave the man a sheepish grin. "I'm just worried about him," he said by way of explanation.

"I understand." He went over to the light box and turned it on. "Your boyfriend has an old fracture in his back that, when it healed, developed a calcium deposit on top of it." He looked back over at Tommy. "When he strains or over-stresses the muscles around it, the area swells. That pushes the nerves in the area against that calcium deposit. Right now, that's what's causing his pain."

Tom grimaced. "Is there anything that can be done or is he just gonna have to deal with it?"

"I'm not a specialist in that area. Some more detailed tests will be necessary to determine how deep the calcification runs. They might be able to go in and scrape some of it away, but there's nothing to say that it won't come back."

"I see. Well, maybe I can get him to go to a specialist, now that we know about it," Tom replied. He turned back to watch his boyfriend sleep. "Poor Bear," he said a little louder than he meant to. The painkiller that the doctor had given him had impaired his judgment just a bit.

Chuckling softly, Joe turned off the light box. "Once he's awake and slightly alert, I'll let you call for the van to come get you two. For the rest of tonight, I suggest you both take it easy. If possible, I'd also suggest he only drives off the mountain. After that, it'd probably be better if you drove."

"If he gives me a fight about it, I'll have to call and let you tell him to give me the keys to the Hummer. He's so stubborn sometimes. But you think he'll be okay with just painkillers and muscle relaxers?" Tom turned back toward Eric and began stroking his hair again. "I wish you'd wake up."

"As long as he rests and takes it easy, yes I do." He grinned slightly. "That means nothing too strenuous in private either. Not going to say you have to abstain, just go easy. As for traveling, if possible, let him stretch out on the ride home and take a few stops to stretch."

"Yeah, I can do that. Thanks for looking after him, doctor," Tom said. He turned back to Eric when he heard a slight groan coming from the big man. "Eric? You waking up?"

The Guardian Commander blinked a few times before he finally opened his eyes. He gazed blearily up at his partner, and then sighed but didn't say anything.

Leaning in and placing a light kiss on his forehead, Tommy ran his fingers through the dark hair again. "Come on, Babe...wake up. You're gonna be just fine, okay?"

Finally, Eric turned his head and made actual eye contact with Tommy. "You okay?"

"Me? Oh, I'm fine. Nothing to it. How are you feeling, Love?" the former Ranger Commander asked, swaying slightly as he perched on the edge of the bed.

Shaking his head, he sighed. "Lay down with me for a bit, Falcon, before you fall off the bed."

"I can't lay down with you in here. This is a hospital...sorta."

"I don't care. If you don't want me moving around a lot, then lay down with me."

"They'll throw us outta here, Bear. I'm okay. My hip is just really sore," he said, rubbing it gently through his jeans.

Joe walked back into the room and looked at the pair. "Well, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"I don't feel much right now-still really sleepy-but I'm not in pain," Eric answered, looking up at Tommy.

Nodding, Joe followed the man's eyes, and then fought down a laugh. "Um, Tommy? Why don't you stretch out there with Eric for a bit? You two can sleep for about an hour and then I'll wake you two when the van gets here."

"Why do you two want me to lie down so badly?" he asked, looking from one to the other.

Joe snorted softly. "Because you're swaying in place and I'd really rather not have you fall off the bed. So please, humor me if not your boyfriend?"

"Am I?" When they both nodded, he finally gave in. "Fine, fine. What did you give me anyway? Painkillers don't usually make me so loopy."

"A little bit of Demerol. I figured with your size, the standards wouldn't really take the edge off." Joe was quiet for a moment. "When was the last time you had a full meal?"

Tommy shrugged as he crawled into bed with his partner. "When was it, Sarge?"

Eric rolled his eyes slightly, and then looked up at the doc. "We had brunch before we went snowmobiling, but since then we've only had a couple of cookies and some hot chocolate."

"That's why the Demerol's hitting you a bit differently. If you had eaten a little closer to when I gave it to you, then you probably would have been fine." He looked down at Eric. "And you are going to have to take it easy for a couple of weeks."

After placing a light kiss on his boyfriend's head, the Quantum Ranger looked up at the doctor. "So what's wrong with my back?" He knew that much from how it had been hurting him.

"Well, like I told Tommy, you have an old fracture that developed a calcium deposit when it healed. Any time you strain those muscles, it presses on the nerves causing you pain. How did you injure your back, anyway?"

For a moment, Eric was quiet. "I was an Army Ranger for a while. We were doing night parachute training and our pilot took us off course. Later on, we learned that the instruments were not properly calibrated. Anyway, the change in course put us into a heavily wooded area for landing. My chute got caught up in a tree about 30 feet off the ground." He sighed softly while remembering the accident. "I didn't know how far off the ground I was, but I did know that I had to get down. After I cut my shroud lines and started falling was when I realized how high up I was. On the way down, I hit a couple of tree branches and then landed on a rock. When I woke up, almost a week had passed and I spent almost a month in traction from the fracture in my back. Shortly after that is when I left the Army."

He met the doctor's eyes again. "Three men were killed that night and another two were left permanently paralyzed. No one in our stick came out uninjured, a total of thirty men."

Joe grimaced and shook his head. "Man, I guess it could've been worse for you then. Does it give you a lot of trouble?"

"Most of the time it's okay. Other times, I'll do something in training or while working out that'll strain it or overstress it, but not often."

The former Ranger Commander looked into his boyfriend's face, greatly concerned after hearing his story. "You never told me about that. How come?" he asked, still feeling the effects of the pain killer.

The Guardian Commander sighed softly before turning his head and looking into his lover's eyes. "Because it's a part of my past that I don't like to think about. I've got some good memories from my time in the Army, but that night…" He shook his head. "I was the Sergeant for one section of our stick. Two of the men that died were in my section and neither one of them were even old enough to drink. It took the Army almost two years for them to finally say that the pilot was at fault and to pay their families what they were owed. And I couldn't do anything to help them because of my own injuries."

As the doctor stood by and listened, Tom reached up and gently patted Eric's chest. "I'm so sorry, Bear. That memory must be hard to deal with." He gave Eric his most sympathetic look. "Wasn't your fault though."

"I know it wasn't." Reaching up, Eric slowly covered Tommy's hand with his own. "And it's something I'm slowly putting behind me." He grinned slightly. "Believe it or not, working with the Guardians helps a lot."

"Good. We can talk about this later, okay?" Tom said, laying his head on Eric's shoulder.

Joe smiled slightly. "Eric, I'll give you a copy of the X-rays and my findings so that you can show them to your regular doctor at home. I want both of you to take it easy-you, particularly, need to for about two weeks." He noticed the look on his patient's face. "No arguments-you need to rest that back. And I don't want you driving any more than you can help, either."

The other man nodded. "All right." He was quiet for a moment. "Think I can get you to give me two different muscle relaxers? One heavier than the other and the same thing for the painkillers?" This wasn't the first time his back had put him out of action, so he was slowly learning what worked and what didn't.

"I can do that, but you've got to promise me you won't drive while on these meds. And you won't let him drive either," Joe said with a grin, gesturing toward Tommy who looked to be nearly asleep.

Chuckling softly, Eric looked at his partner before giving the doc a grin. "After we get back to his place, I promise neither one of us will drive while on the meds."

"Okay, that's good enough for me. I'm gonna let you two rest for a bit and then I'll call the van to pick you up and take you back to the lodge. Let us know if you need anything," he said, excusing himself so that his patients could sleep.

"Thanks doc." As the door closed behind the man, Eric turned his head and rested it against Tommy before closing his eyes and joining his lover in sleep.

-o-O-o-

Sighing softly, Eric eased down onto the couch. He was glad the people at the resort had started a fire for them. Looking up, he watched as Tommy came closer. "How's your wrist?"

"Not too bad, but the Demerol's still in my system," he said with a slightly loopy grin. "How's your eye?" Tom still felt terrible about giving his partner that shining black and purple mark on his face, even though he knew it was an accident.

"It's fine. I honestly don't even feel it." A soft chuckle came from the Quantum Ranger. "Although, that could be from whatever it is that he gave me for pain earlier, too."

"Good thing neither of us has to drive anywhere today. Think we'll be able to manage the trip back to Reefside tomorrow?" Tom asked, taking a seat beside his boyfriend.

"I can get us off the mountain, but that'd be about it." He picked up his lover's good hand. "Honestly don't think I could get us much further than that."

"I think I can handle it from there as long as I'm not on too much pain killer. You're actually gonna let me drive the Hummer?" he chuckled. "Better write this down in my diary."

"Either I let you drive or we're gonna have to get someone to come up here and drive us both down."

"I think you can trust me-I'll be fine. What do you want for dinner? We both really need to eat."

"Something from room service." He grinned slightly. "Don't really think I'm up to sitting in a chair in one of the restaurants."

"Oh yeah, I figured that. Let me go find the room service menu and we'll decide on something. After dinner, I'll start packing up some of our stuff while you rest your back. Deal?"

"Just don't overdo it, okay?" Eric gave the hand he held a slight squeeze.

"No, I won't. Be right back," he said, getting up to go in search of the menu.

Once they'd ordered, the two men sat back on the couch and enjoyed the fire while they waited on their dinner to arrive. "Yeah, we definitely need to get a little place like this of our own one of these days. Don't you think?" he asked, snuggling up to his lover.

Resting his head against the one nestled against his shoulder, the SG Commander sighed softly. "Definitely and we'll be able to do that one day."

"I can't tell you how much better I feel now that I've finally made the decision to turn in my notice at school. It's like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Moving in with you and living in Silver Hills is gonna be the best decision I've made in a long time-I just know it," Tommy said, stroking Eric's thigh.

"I'm glad you've made the decision, too. I really think you'll be happier working with us, Tom."

He looked up into Eric's face. "Think I'll look alright in the uniform?" he asked with a grin.

Chuckling softly, the Asian laid a soft kiss on his boyfriend's cheek before moving close to his ear. "I think I'm going to have trouble keeping my hands off of you in that uniform."

He gently nipped Tommy's earlobe. "If I'd been sure Jason wouldn't have killed me, I'd have loved to get my hands on you when you were wearing those tight, black spandex that hugged every inch of you and showed off just how gorgeous you are."

"Yeah well...I haven't gotten to see nearly enough of you in your tight, red spandex. You might have to give me a little show to appease me one day soon."

Dinner arrived not too long after and once they'd finished stuffing their faces, the two decided that one last soak in the hot tub was in order. In their birthday suits with towels in hand, Eric and Tommy carefully lowered themselves into the hot, bubbling water.

Shaking his head, Eric watched his lover grinning broadly. "What are you grinning about over there?"

"Oh nothing," Tom said, flicking at the water with his fingers. "I was just imagining myself peeling that spandex off of you. Like unwrapping a gift," he grinned.

Eric chuckled softly. "You and that mind of yours." He grinned. "Gotta admit, I might end up having a few fantasies of my own about stripping you out of that uniform."

"Maybe I'll strip for ya. Would ya like that, hmmm?" the former Ranger Commander asked with a mischievous grin.

"Oh yeah. Just the two of us, me stretched out on the bed, watching as you slowly remove each piece." He leaned in and gently nipped his boyfriend on the neck. "Bit by bit revealing the body that I love."

Tommy laughed. "I suppose you'd like me to wear a g-string..."

"Oh no, you can't wear anything underneath. The thought of you going commando in those pants…" He groaned softly. "Just imagining that, I can feel myself starting to get hard."

"But you are an Eveready battery, after all," he laughed and gently rubbed his boyfriend's back with his good hand. "You seem to have the same effect on me, though. Stopping to think for a moment, Tommy tilted his head and asked, "Would you strip for me?"

"As long as it was just us, yeah, I would. Not tonight though and probably not for a few weeks."

"Okay, I'll pencil you in for mid-March then," he giggled and splashed a little water at Eric. "I'll bet you could put on quite a show if you had a few drinks in you first."

"For you, I might skip the drinks." He blushed slightly. "Although they might definitely help."

"You? You need the drinks-you're not an exhibitionist like some people I know. The booze would help to loosen you up some," Tom laughed.

The Guardian Commander had to laugh. "Yeah, you might be right about that." When they quieted down again, he took hold of the other man's hand. "I'm glad we did this. Maybe not the snowmobile accident part, but everything else."

"Oh yeah, me too. Thank you so much, baby. This has been the nicest birthday I think I've ever had. I'm not sure I deserve you," he cooed, placing small kisses all along Eric's jawline.

"Glad you enjoyed it." He wrapped his arms lightly around the other man's waist.

"I really did. We definitely need a hot tub at our new house, by the way. 'Our new house'...has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" he smiled.

"It really does. I can't wait for you to take a look at it." He met the chocolate orbs and leaned in, kissing his partner lightly. "Anything you want to change, take out, or add, we can do."

"I can't wait to see it. I'll make a trip out as soon as I can and we'll go check it out."

-o-O-o-

Tommy glanced over at his boyfriend from the driver's seat of the Hummer. The SG commander was shifting again, trying unsuccessfully to find a completely comfortable position. The road back to Reefside had been rather smooth once they'd gotten down off the mountain, but Eric was just in too much pain. "Bear, why don't you take another muscle relaxer," Tommy suggested, looking at the dashboard clock. "It's been long enough."

"We'll have to get something to eat. I can't take it on an empty stomach." He wasn't even going to fight about taking something, especially if he wanted to be comfortable on the rest of the ride.

"Okay, that's not a problem. There should be something decent on one of the next few off-ramps. Whatcha in the mood for?"

"Nothing too greasy, if possible. Maybe one of those Arby's sandwiches."

"Sure, that'll work. Shouldn't be too hard to find an Arby's."

Sure enough, two exits further down the highway, Tommy pulled off the main road and right into the restaurant parking lot. "Wanna eat in the car or go in? Stretching your legs might make you feel a little better," he suggested.

"We can go in, but I'm not sure how sitting will be once we get in there."

"Okay, we'll compromise. We'll get out, stretch, go in and use the restroom and get our food, then retire to the comfort of the Hummer to eat. Deal?"

He nodded. "Sounds better." Sighing softly, he looked over at his boyfriend. "I hate to admit it, but I'm not going to be able to drive back to Silver Hills on my own."

"I'm way ahead of you, babe. I kinda got that idea earlier, so I decided that I was gonna talk to you about calling Jason and Adam to come get you from my house. I'd like to see those sneaky little bastards anyway...and that way you don't have to drive," Tom smiled.

As they pulled further into the parking lot and found a space, Eric leaned over slightly and kissed his lover on the cheek. "Knew there was a reason that I loved you. Although, I've gotta admit that having Jason around for the trip back will be a good thing."

"Yeah, he can drug your ass up if necessary. Not to mention, he'd have no trouble throwing you over his shoulder if the need arose." He chuckled and kissed his lover gently. "Now let's get out and stretch some. My butt feels as wide as this seat!"

"Least it doesn't look as wide." Grinning, he opened his own door after undoing the seatbelt. It was slow going as he climbed out of the Hummer, but he was glad that he'd taken the bigger vehicle since it made getting in and out easier.

Tommy moved quickly around the vehicle to help his partner if he looked like he was going to need it. Just as he got to the door, Eric's back seized up on him as he was climbing down and the SG nearly fell. "Whoa...take it easy," Tom said as he caught his boyfriend before he could connect with the pavement. "You okay, Bear?"

He shook his head slightly. "Not really. Back's really bothering me. Think I waited too long to take anything."

"Here, try to straighten up," the former White Ranger said, helping Eric turn so that he could put his hands on the seat. He began to carefully massage the knot in his boyfriend's lower back with his fist, trying to make the muscles relax some. After a few minutes of this, Eric was able to at least stand up straight.

Sighing softly, Eric looked at his partner. "Might have to make use of your entire water heater tonight and the downstairs guest room."

"Whatever it takes. Hey, here's a thought. Why don't we go ahead and call Jase and Adam and have them meet us at the house tonight if they can. Adam's a crazy-good massage therapist-did you know that?"

"I've heard rumors of it, but haven't experienced it for myself." He gave the other man a soft grin. "And that sounds like a plan. Things are a little slow right now anyway at the base."

"Cool. I'll call them after we eat. Need some help making it inside?" Tommy asked, taking Eric by the arm.

"At least to get going I will." He chuckled softly. "We might scare a few people inside."

"Huh? Why?" he asked, giving the SG commander a quizzical look.

"Cause we both look like we've been in a fight."

"Okay, then that's what we'll say if anyone asks," he grinned. "Come on." With that, they started toward the door, arm in arm.

After waiting a few minutes in line, which did nothing to improve how his back felt, Eric leaned against the counter a little as he gave the young woman behind the register his order.

"Oh my goodness...what happened to your eye?" she asked quite innocently.

Smirking slightly, he took the cup she handed him so he could get his drink. "I'm half of a tag team and we just had a competition yesterday." Winking, he made his way slowly to the drink fountain.

Tommy raised an eyebrow and grinned, looking down at the girl. "And I'm the other half," he said with a grin and held up his braced wrist.

Shaking her head, she placed the order, then handed him back his change. "If you two look like this, what about the other two?"

"Oh, they look like they were hit by a truck." He leaned in and grinned. "We won," he said with a wink.

She blushed slightly before sliding him the two bags with their food. "Well, hope the rest of your week goes better."

"Thanks. Have a good day," he said with a smile and joined his boyfriend. "Ready to head back outside, Bear?"

The Guardian Commander nodded. "Yeah, I got you a sweet tea. The sodas were kinda flat."

"That's fine. Need some help walking?" he asked, offering his arm.

"Yeah, just give me a second." He'd twisted a bit too far when he was putting tops on their drinks and it upset his back more.

"Don't let me forget to call Adam when we get back to the car. I hope those two can make it tonight." He stood by patiently and waited for Eric to feel like moving again.

Giving his boyfriend a small nod, he took hold of the offered arm. "I'll remind you, trust me on that one. I want to call Wes, too. Make sure it's okay with him."

It took several minutes, but they finally made it back out to the Hummer and Tom assisted Eric in getting himself settled. Once they'd both eaten, Jason's cell phone number was dialed. "Hey Rex! How's things goin' in _Silver Hills_?" he asked, emphasizing the location.

The former ranger snorted softly. "Considering we just got done with a hand-to-hand class where Mike wiped the mat with most of the cadets? Not too bad." He stopped when he realized what he was saying. "Who- When- Dammit Eric."

Tommy laughed out loud with that. "Ha! Gotcha!"

The other man blushed furiously. "We were planning on telling you Tom, but Adam and I wanted to do it in person." He grinned. "So how'd your weekend go?"

"Oh...it was great. That resort is amazing-thanks for suggesting it," he smiled and looked over at Eric who half-heartedly returned it. Raising an eyebrow, Tom carried on talking to Jason. "Umm, but we had a bit of an accident with a snowmobile and Eric's back has flared up something awful. Turns out he's got an old injury that was aggravated."

The paramedic frowned. "How bad of an accident?" He nodded at Mike, who came over. Pulling the phone away a bit, he spoke to the former SEAL. "Do you know if Wes is free right now? Eric was in a snowmobile accident."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, we were going to take off early after this class. Is Eric okay?"

"Fixing to find out. Come on, let's go talk to Blondie."

Rolling his eyes at the nickname, the younger man fell into step with Jason.

"So talk to me Tom, how bad was this accident?"

"Well, it really wasn't too bad-Eric just took a curve a little too fast and he ended up in the snow. The problem is that it aggravated the other injury which showed up on the MRI. He's in a good bit of pain right now, so I'm driving us back." He turned to his partner. "Go ahead and take that muscle relaxer, babe."

The Guardian Captain didn't wait for a response to his knock before entering Wes' office. "If he's not putting up a fight with you about taking a muscle relaxer, then yeah, I'd say he's hurting quite a bit." He nodded at Wes. "Tom, I'm going to call you back in a minute. We're in Wes' office and you might as well tell it only once."

Eric nodded. He'd eaten about half his sandwich while Tommy talked. Pulling the sample pack from his pocket, he took one of the pills with some of the tea he'd gotten.

"Okay, call me back," Tommy said, hanging up and putting his cell phone down. "Is that all you can eat?" he asked Eric.

"I want to see how this settles then I'll finish the sandwich." The Asian looked over at the other man. "Pain's really killing my appetite right now." He sighed softly. "Might have been better to wait until tomorrow to try and get back to Reefside."

Jason looked at Wes, who was watching him and Adam. The former Black Ranger had spotted the Original Red Ranger walking down the hall with Mike and joined them. Mike stepped over to his boyfriend as Jason began to tell them what all he knew so far.

Shaking his head, Wes put the phone on speaker and dialed Tommy's number.

"Hello?" he answered, figuring it to be Jason but not recognizing the number. "Jase?"

"It's actually Wes, Tommy, but Jason, Mike and Adam are all here as well. Jason told me what you told him. How bad is he?"

"Well Wes...he's pretty bad right now but he thinks it's because he waited too long to take the muscle relaxer that the doctor gave him.

"And you're not having to force it down his throat?" The blonde looked up at Jason, who nodded minutely. "Tommy, how much longer until you two get back to your place?"

"Umm, probably about another two hours or so. We were wondering if maybe Jase and Adam could come and drive him back to Silver Hills and Adam could give him a good massage."

"They're both on their way and one of them will give you a call once they're on the road, but no one's driving for a few days. Jason will make the decision about when he feels the trip won't be too much for Eric." He met the midnight eyes of the paramedic, and then nodded.

"We'll meet you at your place, Tommy." Jason stated. "Should be there about the same time as you guys or a little after. Try to get Eric to lay that front seat back. It'll be easier on his back if he's flatter instead of sitting up."

"Alright, sounds good. I'll let him know. See you guys in a little while," Tom said, ending the call and turning to his boyfriend. "Jase said for you to lay the seat back and try to rest as much as possible. They're gonna meet us at the house."

Eric nodded his head slightly. "Help me lay back? I can get the seat, but I don't want to move too quick." The muscle relaxer was starting to work, but his back was still really tight.

Assisting the SG commander, Tom got him into a comfortable position and then headed out for Reefside. "Just go ahead and sleep if you can-it'll make the trip seem shorter. I'll get us home as quickly as I can."

"All right." He reached out a hand and laid it on one of the toned thighs of his boyfriend. "Love you, Falcon."

"Love you too-hope that medicine makes you feel better." He patted the hand on his thigh. Several minutes later, Tommy looked over to find that Eric was out like a light. _'Good, maybe his back will feel better when he wakes up.' _He just concentrated on driving as smoothly as possible and getting them back to Reefside where Eric could rest properly.

-o-O-o-

Adam turned toward his partner as they drove from Silver Hills to Reefside. "Before I massage Eric's back, I need you to look him over to make sure I'm not just gonna make things worse. Did Tom say specifically what was wrong?"

"Apparently Eric has an old injury that flared up when he wrecked the snowmobile. Other than that, I didn't get much out of him, but we can talk to them once we get there."

"Well other than this accident, did they enjoy our resort?" Adam said with a sly grin.

A soft chuckle came from the former Gold Ranger. "I did get that impression."

"We need to make another trip up there ourselves, Rex. Whatcha think?"

"Hmm, a weekend alone with you in the mountains? Think I might be persuaded to go for something like that." Reaching a hand over, he placed it on a toned thigh. "Now, to get the bossman up there for a few days."

Adam laughed. "I suppose you think getting Wes and Mike up there will chill him out a bit? I don't know..."

"Well, he still needs to get away for a bit. Don't think he's left Silver Hills since the All Red mission."

"That's sad. The man needs a break," Adam replied, shaking his head.

"They could both do with a break before either one of them end up hurt." He chuckled softly. "You do realize this means you get to help out with the new class starting next week."

"Oh crap, that's right. With Eric probably out for a few days I'm gonna be busy!" Adam replied.

"Uh huh. Don't worry though. Mike and I can help out a bit as well as Wes." He looked over at the other man and winked. "Now you get to know what it feels like to want to take a newbie and hang them up by their bootstraps."

"Oh joy...can't wait," he answered, deadpan. "Wonder how long Myers is gonna be down? I hope it's nothing really serious with his back. You know Tommy..."

"Yeah, he worries himself to the point that he forgets to take care of himself. It'll probably be a couple of days before Eric can really travel, so we'll take care of both of them."

"Did Tom say anything about being hurt? I thought it was just Eric."

"No, but if he's worrying about Eric, then he's liable to forget to eat, won't sleep like he should and that'll give him headaches." He frowned. "You know, he really didn't say anything about himself."

"Well, I hope that no news is good news. He's driving them home you said, right? He must be okay if he can drive," Adam offered.

"Hope so, but either way until we actually get to Reefside, there's no way to know."

"How much longer?" he asked, getting antsy.

Jason checked the clock before squeezing Adam's hand. "About an hour. Think you can handle that?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Should we call T's cell and see how they're doing?"

"No, let's leave him alone to concentrate on driving. He's supposed to call once they get to his place."

Tommy gazed over at his sleeping boyfriend and sighed. _'I hope Adam and Jason are able to help him feel better. Poor Bear.'_

Eric shifted slightly in the seat, but didn't open his eyes. His back was still hurting a little, but nowhere near as bad as it had been.

Finally reaching the turnoff for his little part of Reefside, Tommy slowed down and took the exit carefully to avoid jostling Eric any more than could be helped. "Almost home, bro. Hang in there," he said softly, not sure if his partner was awake or not.

Sighing softly, the other man opened his eyes and looked sleepily over at his boyfriend. "Think we can worry about the car later?"

Tom turned and smiled in his direction. "Hey Sleepyhead. Yeah, we can leave that until later. I just want to get you into the house so you can lie down."

"Looking forward to that." He watched his boyfriend for a moment. "How's your wrist?"

Until Eric mentioned it, Tommy had pretty much been ignoring the persistent pain in his bad wrist. Now that he'd brought it up though... "It's okay," he lied. "Nothing I can't handle."

"Uh huh, that's why you've got those lines around your mouth from the pain. How about when we get to the house, you take something for the pain and join me in getting some sleep?"

"Sounds like a plan." He shook his head and chuckled. "I couldn't hide a cold from you, could I?"

"Not when I can't hide things from you." He stretched lightly. "How much longer until we get there?"

"Only about ten minutes. I'll call Jase and Adam as soon as we get in the house-let 'em know we got home alright. How're you feeling?"

"Back's still hurting a little, but not like it was before. I'm going to need your help getting out though."

"Well yeah, I figured that. Wish I had a hot tub-that would really help," Tom said, reaching over to gently rub Eric's thigh.

"Yeah, me too. Think a shower might help some."

He gasped softly as the Hummer hit a bump in the road, jarring him.

"Damn...sorry baby. Couldn't avoid that one. You okay?"

For a moment, the Guardian Commander could only breathe and nod. Finally, he let out a long breath. "I'm okay. Just bounced me a bit awkwardly."

"We're almost to the house-just hang in there." The former Ranger Commander drove as carefully as he could to avoid the bumps and potholes now that they were off the highway.

"I'm not going anywhere, babe. I promise." Eric closed his eyes again, focusing on his breathing for the rest of the trip.

Finally getting to his driveway, Tommy pulled the Hummer in beside his black Jeep and parked. "Good to see Trent and Connor got my Jeep home okay. I wonder about those two sometimes." Once he'd killed the engine, he got out and went around to help Eric. "Just take it slow, babe. No rush."

"Yeah well, they need to quit dancing around the idea of getting together and just do it. They'll both be happier and Trent will settle Connor down some." He let Tommy help him out, and then stood there for a couple of minutes to let himself get situated.

"I think they're both afraid of the wrath of a certain former Yellow Ranger. You know how that is," Tom said with a chuckle, trying to take his lover's mind off the pain he was no doubt in. "If there's anybody that can fuck up your life, it's a yellow or blue ranger!"

"True, but I think Kira might be about ready to just knock their heads together so that they see sense." He nodded at Tommy, letting the other man know that he was ready. "Guess it's a good thing that Hayley made you wash the sheets in the guest room."

"And just how would you know about that?" Tom asked, looping an arm around Eric's waist so that he could help him walk.

"What? You think I was going to let anything go to chance? She helped me pack and did laundry for you before we left so that you'd have clean jeans."

Rolling his eyes, the man sighed. "People conspiring behind my back, I swear." He chuckled and looked over at Eric. "Take it easy-not so fast."

Nodding, Eric let Tommy help him up the steps and into the house. Once inside, he sighed softly. "Thanks Tom."

"No problem. You want something to drink before you take that hot shower?"

"No thanks." He looked over at his boyfriend. "You going to join me?"

"Sure," he answered with a grin. "Besides, you might need some help in there."

"That's true. Will definitely need another pair of hands to get to all those…" grinning, he leaned in and kissed the former Ranger Commander, "…hard to reach places."

"Alright, you don't have to convince me," Tom grinned. "Come on, let's get wet."

Chuckling softly, Eric let the other man lead the way to the bathroom. "Least this bathroom isn't really small."

"No, it's not too bad. Need some help getting undressed?"

"I can unbutton the shirt, but getting it off will be a problem, so yeah. I'd like some help here, handsome."

"I think I can manage that. Oh damn, I just thought of something. My other brace is in the car and I can't get this one wet." He stopped and thought for a moment. "I'll just do without it in the shower-should be okay." With that, he started helping his partner get naked.

"Or you can use an Ace wrap for today. That way you're still offering it some support." Slowly, the pile of clothes on the floor grew until they were both naked.

"Okay, start the water while I pull out some towels." After he did that, Tommy carefully took the brace off of his bad wrist and rubbed it gingerly. "Man, this is sore," he mumbled.

Looking over after checking the temp of the water, Eric frowned. "Looks a little swollen, too. Might want to rest it on something when we lay down."

"Yeah, I think it is swollen. Can't wait to tell Jase how it happened." He rolled his eyes and turned toward the shower.

"You didn't even tell him that you were hurt so I'm sure he's gonna be pleased."

"Yeah...I'll probably never hear the end of it. Let's get on with the shower-I need to take one of those lovely pain pills."

"Know that feeling." Eric stepped into the shower, moving carefully before standing under the almost hot spray. He sighed. "That feels so good."

"It should help your back. Here, I'll help you get washed and then we can both lie down for a while."

"I appreciate all of this." Carefully, he moved closer and placed a light kiss on his boyfriend's soft, warm lips.

"Not a problem. I just want you to feel better." As Tommy was carefully washing Eric's back, he pressed a little too forcefully with his bad wrist. "Ah, damn," he hissed, dropping the cloth that he'd been holding.

Turning slowly, the Asian put his arms around the other man. "Easy, let's go ahead and get out. We're clean enough and you need to rest that wrist."

"Okay, I think you're right." He leaned in and gently kissed his boyfriend. "That bed is gonna feel so good."

"You lying next to me is going to feel better." Reaching out carefully, he turned the water off and opened the shower curtain. Eric took hold of the closest towel and handed it to Tommy. "Come on, let's get dried off, pain pills into you, and laying down."

"Good idea." Tommy dried himself quickly and wrapped the towel around his waist. "Here, let me help you," he said taking the towel and drying Eric's back.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Eric sighed softly as he lay beside Tommy. "Never realized how good a bed could feel after a car ride." He put an arm around Tommy as the other man rested his head on the Guardian Commander's chest.

"Wow, those pain pills work fast," Tommy said, snuggling against his boyfriend. "How's your back feeling now?"

"Little better. Glad you convinced me to take at least half of a pain pill that he prescribed." Eric placed a light kiss on his lover's head. "Get some rest and when we get up we'll worry about other things." He closed his eyes, already feeling the pull of the meds wearing on him.

-o-O-o-

_Author's notes: Please leave us a review if you're enjoying our little story—they go a long way in encouraging us to work faster! _


	4. There When You Need Us

**A Ranger Retreat**

**By**

**A Warrior's Prophet**

**Disclaimer****: See Chapter 1**

**Authors' Notes****: **Please check out a new Facebook page started by a couple of friends of ours—Power Rangers Fanfiction Writers Forum. It's a great place to discuss the ins and outs of writing plus meet other authors and talk up your own stories. We'll be glad to chat with you!

**Chapter 4****—There When You Need Us**

Jason sighed softly as they finally pulled into Tommy's driveway. "Why does that drive seem longer today?"

"Because you're worried about Tommy and Eric-that's why," Adam stated simply.

He grinned slightly. "Might be right about that." He climbed out and grabbed the jump kit he'd put together before leaving the base. "Well, let's go see how they're doing."

Once they knocked several times and got no answer, Adam looked at Jason with a question on his face. "Still got that key?"

Reaching into his pocket, the Original Red Ranger pulled the key out. "Grabbed it just in case." Less than a minute later, they were inside. "Okay, let's find them so that we can chew them out a bit."

"You take the den and study and I'll look in the kitchen and dining room." He moved off toward the back of the house calling to his friends. "Tommy? Eric? Where are you guys?"

"All right." Jason moved easily through the residence. "Eric? Tom? Come on guys, let us know where you're at."

Eventually meeting back up at the foot of the stairs, Adam looked up at Jason. "No luck, huh? Me either. Think they're upstairs?"

"If Eric's back was hurting, they may not have wanted to risk the stairs. Let's check the downstairs bedroom first and then go upstairs." He headed down the hall to the bedroom and sighed softly, relaxing a bit as he stepped into the room. For a moment, he couldn't place what was odd, and then he frowned. "I'm gonna kick his ass."

Adam walked in behind him. "What? What's up?"

"Notice anything different about Falcon?" He nodded towards the bed, where Tommy's braced wrist rested on Eric's stomach.

"Hmmm?" he asked, looking intently at his old friend. "He's wearing a brace. Wonder what happened," he said, looking up at Jason.

"Yeah, and he never mentioned to us that he was hurt as well. So he basically drove from the cabin to Reefside with an injured wrist." Shaking his head, he looked over at his boyfriend. "You want to do the honors or shall I?"

"You go right ahead, big boy. I know better than to try to wake those two. I like my jaw right where it is, thank you very much."

"Chicken." He chuckled softly and set his kit down next to the nightstand. Carefully, he reached out and put a firm, steady hand on Eric's shoulder but didn't squeeze it. If this worked, he was going to have to thank Wes later. "Eric, wake up. Come on Commander, you need to open your eyes."

Adam stood by out of reach and just watched his partner. "Be careful, Jase..."

Tommy shifted a little and mumbled something, but didn't wake.

"Trust me, I plan on being careful." Applying a little more force to the hand on Eric's shoulder, while raising his voice slightly. "Commander Myers!"

Eric's eyes snapped open suddenly at the same time as his free hand came up to land right in middle of Jason's chest, pushing him away. When he tried to move himself in the bed though, his back reminded him that all was not well in that department. "Damn it," he hissed and settled down again, looking up at Jason.

Eric's sudden movements woke Tommy who sat up quickly, looking like he was ready to defend his partner.

"Easy Falcon," Jason stated. He stood still, his free hand having come up to trap Eric's hand on his own chest. Turning his attention to the Quantum Ranger, he looked down at the man. "You with me Eric?"

"Jase...yeah. Sorry. You okay?"

"I'm fine. Wes told me how to wake you up to avoid getting hit." He released the man's hand and stepped back a bit. "Well, someone's got a lot of explaining to do." His gaze shifted to his former lover. "Like what the hell did you do to your wrist that you oh-so-conveniently forgot to mention on the phone!"

Tommy blushed a bit and looked at Adam and back to Jason. "Sorry. I guess I was so worried about Sarge here that I forgot to mention my wrist."

"Yeah well, how bad was it hurting by the time you got here?"

"Pretty bad, I have to admit. But I took a pain pill and then we both kinda fell asleep." Glancing over at his boyfriend, he asked, "How ya feelin'?"

Eric sighed softly. "Back's still a bit sore, but waking up like that made it tighten up again."

Shaking his head, Jason took a seat on the edge of the bed. "All right, first things first. Eric, I want you to turn over onto your stomach. I'll help if you need it, but I need to look at your back. Then we'll see if I can give you something before Adam starts working on it."

Tommy started to get up so that he could get out of their way, but he suddenly realized that he was naked. "Ummm Adam, could you toss me one of those towels over there?"

Adam glanced over and then did as Tommy asked, a grin on his face. "Sleeping au naturale, huh?"

Jason grinned. "Aww, can't believe you decided not to give us a show." He looked down at Eric. "Ready to turn over?"

"Yeah, but I'm gonna need some help, I think," he said with a groan.

"No problem. We'll go on three, okay?" When he got a small nod, he moved into a position that allowed him to help the other man turn over while trying to not cause Eric anymore pain. "One-two-three." On the count of three, he carefully helped Eric roll onto his stomach. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I guess so." He took a couple of deep breaths trying to get his muscles to relax some.

"Relax as much as you can, Eric. I'm not going to tell you that this won't hurt because I can already feel how tight you are."

Adam watched them for a few moments, and then looked over at Tommy. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, Froggy. My wrist hurts a bit, but it's not too bad. I'm just worried about Sarge." He looked down at his boyfriend who was obviously in pain.

"Rex will take care of him, but you need to look after yourself as well." He gently took hold of the braced wrist and noticed the light discoloration in the fingers. "Your wrist is swollen."

"Yeah, I know. It's got a small fracture," Tom said quietly to his friend.

"Tom.." He shook his head and went over to Jason's bag. Reaching in, he grabbed an ice pack and took it back over to Tommy. After activating the cold pack, he handed it to his friend. "Put that on it and try to keep it elevated a bit. When Jase gets through with your boyfriend, let him look at it."

"Okay, I will. Right now I'm gonna go put some clothes on. Be right back," he said, moving toward the door.

"You gonna be okay to get them by yourself?" He got an eyebrow in return. "Okay, just asking." Grinning he nodded. "Might want to grab something comfortable for your boy toy, too."

"Okay, I'll get something for him too," he responded and headed up to his bedroom.

Jason frowned as he examined Eric's back. The tightness of the muscles bothered him and he sat back a bit. "Eric, I need you to be honest with me and rate the pain in your back."

The SG commander groaned. "Right now it's about an '8'. It's mostly in my lower back."

"What all did the doc say, Commander?" He looked over at Adam. "You might want to get a few hot, wet towels going. His back is really tight."

"Well, the best I can remember, he said that I have an old fracture in my back that has some calcification formed around it. He thinks that it's pressing on a nerve."

"Well, if he's right, then when that area gets inflamed it's pressing on the nerve." He sighed. "I'll be calling Wes later and telling him we won't be leaving for a few days."

"Few days? Think it's that bad, Jase?" Eric asked, knowing that he was hurting but hoping that he wouldn't have to impose on anyone.

"Honestly, I don't think you guys should have driven back today. That area needs to rest, Bossman, and sitting in a car is no way to let that area settle. If you ignore it now and keep pressing forward, then it's going to hurt worse later and might end up doing more damage."

_'So I get to hang out with Tommy for a few more days...darn,'_ he thought. "Yeah, you're probably right. I didn't want Tommy to have to drive with that wrist, but I just couldn't do it." He paused for a moment. "Jase, don't let him lie to you, okay-his wrist is fractured."

"Kind of figured that. Does he have anything else that's injured? Cause we both know how stubborn he is about some things and when he's worried about someone, well, Tom forgets to take care of himself. As for the next few days, you're going to find yourself on the couch, in the recliner or on the bed. If you want to get up, you'll get help from Adam or me."

"Okay." He brought his arm up and gave Jason a half-hearted salute. "As for Falcon, he's got a bruised hip but I think that's it besides the wrist."

"I'll talk to him while Adam works on your back. We grabbed some groceries on the way in because I wasn't sure what you had in the house. So I'll cook and make Tommy talk a bit."

"You find it that easy to make him talk?"

"Not really, but I've got years of blackmail material on him," he grinned. "Like how he once got his hair caught in his locker at the Youth Center and we had to cut it a bit to get him loose."

Eric chuckled in spite of the pain he was in. "Oh really? I need you to give me some of that material."

"No problem. Adam's got some on him as well, from when I was at the Peace Conference." He reached into his bag. "Do you know around what time you took the muscle relaxer?"

"Hmmm, not exactly. It was probably around 3 or 4 hours ago, though. It was the same time that Tommy called you guys."

"Well, I'm going to give you a mixed dose of an anti-inflammatory and a muscle relaxer. It'll be more of the anti-inflammatory though because I want to get some of the irritation to go down. That'll relieve some of the pressure on the nerve."

"Whatever you think is best, Rex. Adam's still gonna give me a massage, right?" He was looking forward to seeing how good the former Green Zeo Ranger was with his hands.

Chuckling softly, Jason drew up the meds. "Yeah, he is. I had him go get some hot, wet towels so that the moisture and heat will help get the muscles in your back to relax."

Tommy walked in about that time dressed in a t-shirt and sleep pants and carrying another set for his boyfriend. When he saw Jason with a syringe in his hands, he immediately got worried. "Jase...is he okay? What are you giving him?" he asked, moving over to the bed quickly.

"Easy, Tom," the former Gold Ranger stated. "It's just something to help ease the inflammation in his back along with a small dose of muscle relaxer."

Eric looked up at Tommy. "I'm okay... don't worry. Rex is taking good care of me and Adam's about to show me how good of a massage therapist he is." The look in his eyes helped to ease some of Tommy's anxiety.

"Well...okay. They know what they're doing. I guess I'm gonna go get some dinner together for all of us while they help you." He put the clothes down in the chair next to the bed. "Don't flash 'em too much," he smiled.

Jason quickly injected the meds into Eric's hip while he was distracted, then looked over at Tommy. "Actually, I'm going to cook while you and I talk."

"Oooh, that sounds ominous. Guess I shoulda seen this coming," Tom said, rolling his eyes. "I'll meet you in the kitchen then."

Shaking his head, Jason watched him go, and then turned back to Eric. "Just rest and try to relax."

Adam walked in with a bowl of steaming towels. "He ready for me, Rex?"

"Yeah, he's all yours." Getting up, he walked over and kissed his boyfriend lightly on the lips. "Wish me luck."

"Yeah, no doubt. Good luck with our fearless leader," Adam smiled and moved toward the bed to start on the Commander's aching back.

"Gonna need it."

Adam looked down at Eric as he carefully began working on the man's back. "Tell me if something gets to be too much for you."

Eric nodded. "Okay, just take it easy on my lower back, that's all I ask."

"I need to work on that area a bit, Eric, but I'll wait for the meds to take effect. In the meantime, just try to relax. If you've got any questions, just ask."

Walking to the kitchen, Jason washed his hands in the sink, and then looked over at Tommy. "So any particular reason why you didn't tell us you'd been hurt as well?"

Tommy was sitting on a barstool at the kitchen island sipping on a glass of juice. "I told you-I was really worried about Eric and it didn't really enter my mind while I was on the phone with you guys."

With a quiet sigh, the paramedic started grabbing things out of the fridge to use for dinner. "Still Tom, it would have been good to know." After setting the items on the counter, he grabbed a bag of frozen peas from the freezer and handed them to Tommy. "Put that on your wrist and once I get the chicken going, I'll take a look at it."

"Look, like I said, I was just preoccupied with taking care of him and I just didn't think about it. It's not like I was keeping it from you or anything," he explained, holding the bag of frozen vegetables on his wrist.

"And I believe you." He started cutting up the chicken. "So did you get any other injuries?"

"Well, I've got a pretty badly bruised hip from where I slipped on the ice. Other than that, I'm good."

"I'll look at your hip after finishing with your wrist." He tossed the diced chicken into a skillet and started browning it. "Other than the snowmobile accident, how did you like the place?"

"Awww man...it was unreal. We had such a great time-just being able to be a couple in public was a great feeling. Thank you so much for suggesting it, Rex."

"Well, I know how it gets to you at times, not being able to publicly show your affections. Plus, with what you told me the last time we talked, I figured you could use a break. So, I suggested the resort to Eric."

"Best birthday I've had in a long time. So when did you take Adam up there?"

"We went up there for New Year's. Thanksgiving had been spent with my parents and we did Christmas with his. So for New Year's, we just wanted to be alone. It was kind of an anniversary present to him."

Tommy smiled warmly at his ex. "That's so sweet, Jase. You two make such a great couple." He finished off his juice and sat the glass in the sink. "Can I help with dinner?"

The Original Red Ranger blushed slightly. "Thanks." He looked over at his friend. "I'm glad you pushed me to go for it with him. You're about the only person that told us we weren't making a mistake."

"And I still don't understand that. Yeah, in a lotta ways you two are opposites, but you have such great chemistry."

"Don't know what to tell you about that, but I know that I'm really happy with Adam." He finished cutting up the vegetables and added them to the skillet. After adding a bit of chicken stock, he covered it before turning down the heat to let it all simmer. "You'll always have a place in my heart, Tom, but Adam completes me in ways that I never realized weren't whole."

"I know the feeling. I feel a connection with Eric that I've never felt with anyone else. You and I are both pretty lucky, you know that?"

"Kinda got that feeling a few times." He finished what he was doing and moved over to the counter. "Now, let me see your wrist."

Tommy held out his wrist and looked up at Jason. "You'll have to take the brace off me," he grinned.

He shook his head before rolling his eyes. "Always taking things off of you, ain't I?" He grinned as he carefully undid the brace and removed it. "Definitely swollen. Did you get a sling for it?"

"You're bad," Tommy grinned. "No, the doctor didn't give me one-just this brace and one that I can wear in the shower."

Jason nodded. "You still have one from when you strained your shoulder? If not, I can rig one up for you, but it won't be as comfortable."

"I think I do-just have to find it. So you think it'll be okay if I'm careful with it? Think I should call in tomorrow?"

"Might be a good idea to take tomorrow off. We're not going to be leaving for a few days. Eric's back needs a chance to settle down before we make him take another long ride."

"Oh? Tell me the truth, Jase. How bad is he? You think we need to take him to a doctor here?" he asked, looking like his anxiety was growing again.

"At the moment, I think a lot of his problems are from trying to push. You guys should honestly have waited a couple of days to come back, T. For now, let's give him a couple of days to relax. Adam and I will work with him, get him to loosen up a bit and try to get those muscles to relax. If he's not showing signs of improvement in a couple of days, then we'll either take him to a doctor here or to one back on base."

"Okay-I trust you. And I've convinced him that he can trust you too."

Moving closer, Jason pulled the other man into a hug. "We're here now, Tom. Let us help the both of you for a couple of days."

Tommy didn't hesitate to tightly hug his ex-lover. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, Jase. I felt so bad when I just added to his injury..." he said, realizing that he'd conveniently left that part out until now.

The former Gold Ranger's eyebrow rose, but he didn't release his friend. "Care to explain that, Falcon?"

Blushing slightly, the former Ranger Commander sighed. "Well...did you notice his black eye?"

"Yeah, it was kind of hard to miss. I just thought he hit it on something when he wrecked the snowmobile."

"Umm no. Here's what happened: When he got dumped off into the snow, I jumped off of mine and went running up to make sure he was okay. Once I knew that he was-at least pretty much-he asked me to help him up...how did you think I fractured my wrist, anyway?"

"With your luck? Figured you tripped or something." He grinned. "Are you saying that in helping him up, you fell on your own ass?"

"Not exactly. See there was ice under the packed snow and when I started to pull him up, my foot slipped and I came down on him...elbow first. That's what blacked his eye. And I put my hand out to catch myself and that's when I messed up the ol' wrist."

Chuckling softly, Jason squeezed his ex-lover again before letting him go and stepping back. He planted a chaste kiss on the man's cheek. "Only you, bro."

Tom rolled his eyes. "I know. No one has luck like I do. It's dangerous to be around me sometimes."

"Think it's dangerous to be around any of us sometimes. I mean, Rocky set his eyebrows on fire with a marshmallow. Billy crossed a couple of wires and had his hair standing straight up for days. And Adam, I love the man dearly but the day he ran out of the locker room chasing you in nothing but his birthday suit in front of the whole Youth Center was priceless."

Laughing out loud at the memory, Tommy was starting to cheer up. "Thanks, I needed that! You always know how to make me feel better, don'tcha?" He looked up and winked. "I think the time you were trying to show off at the pool and lost your shorts was pretty hilarious too. Did you ever forgive Rocky for that?"

The Guardian Captain blushed hard. "No, and I still owe him for that one, too. Still can't believe he did that."

"Speaking of Rockwell, have you or Adam talked to him lately?"

Getting up to check on dinner, he nodded. "Yeah, he actually came up last weekend. Stayed with us and we showed him around town a bit."

"That's good. He needs to get out more. I'm sure he's been pretty lonely since you guys up and moved on him. Speaking of..." he gave Jason a glare.

Dipping his head slightly, Jason was unable to stop a blush from coloring his cheeks. "We were going to tell you, Tom." He raised his head again to meet his friend's warm, chocolate eyes. "But when Adam and I made the decision to take Wes up on his offer, you were starting to talk about how you were getting fed up with teaching."

"And why would that stop you from telling me? And I'm still fed up with teaching, by the way."

"Because we're both happy with the decision and we didn't want to make you feel bad." He sighed. "You worked hard to get your degree and then got drug back into the Ranger world right after that. Teaching gave you the chance to find rangers and you told me a couple of times that you felt like you'd settled on teaching instead of doing what you really wanted to do. We didn't want to make you feel like that was really true."

"Well regardless, I'm glad you two are happy. I'll be able to visit Eric and you two at the same time now."

"It'd be better if you actually joined us in the Guardians. We could use you."

"Me? What do you guys need me for? I can understand them wanting you for your medical expertise and hand-to-hand skills, and Adam for his meditation and unusual martial arts skills, but...why would they need me?"

"Tommy, we're getting in about 25-30 cadets a class. Every 12 weeks a new class starts. I actually teach very little of the hand-to-hand. My main job is to start their conditioning, help Mike with them on the obstacle course, and I'm part of the first responder team. Adam teaches them meditation techniques, some self-defense, and is responsible for the physical therapy. Wes is in charge of the academics while Eric and Mike handle the hand-to-hand tactics. Having you there would allow Mike to ease up a bit in all that he does."

"I suppose I could help with the academic side of things too. So, you think I might get the chance to wipe the mats with you out there?" he looked up with a mischievous grin.

"Maybe, depends on..." He frowned, eyebrow arching upwards. "You little rat. Wes has already gotten to you, hasn't he?"

"Wes? Oh, you mean 'God's gift'. He's talked to me a couple of times but...I don't know."

"You really should, bro. It'd give you a chance to do something I think you'd enjoy. You'd also get to spend more time with your boyfriend and other friends."

"I'll think about it. So how's dinner coming?"

-o-O-o-

"I need to work on that area a bit, Eric, but I'll wait for the meds to take effect. In the meantime, just try to relax. If you've got any questions, just ask."

"Okay, I'll do that," the Quantum Ranger said and tried to relax as much as possible. After a few minutes, he could tell that the former Black Ranger was really well-trained in massage techniques. "That feels so good, Adam. Who taught you?"

"Well, my mom taught me a few things, especially after I got heavy into the martial arts. Then I took a few classes, got more interested in massage techniques as a whole and got my certification in several different types while I got my degree in physical therapy. Helps a lot to be able to offer my clients a broader range of treatment options." He picked one of the towels up out of the bowl and wrung it out. "I'm going to put a hot towel over your lower back, then work some more on your shoulders and stuff. It won't burn you, but it might feel like it is."

"Alright, I'll try to be a big boy about it. Go ahead," Eric said, not knowing exactly what to expect.

Pulling back the sheet a bit, Adam folded the towel, then placed it so that all of Eric's lower back was covered down to his buttocks.

The SG commander scrunched up his nose and winced a bit at the heat, but tried not to whine about it. "Yep, that's pretty hot..." he almost gasped.

"It's hot because your muscles are so tight." He took a washcloth out of the bowl and put it on Eric's hand. "Feel the difference?"

"Wow, yeah...those came out of the same bowl?"

"Yep and the towel on your back was actually on top of the washcloth, so that should be hotter than the towel." Reaching into Jason's jump kit, he pulled out a small shaving bag and opened it. It took him a moment to find the oil he wanted and pulled it out. "Okay, now to really get to work loosening your back up." He opened the oil and poured a small amount in his hand, letting it heat up a bit. A pleasant blend of eucalyptus, lavender and sandalwood wafted up from the oil. Moving back to Eric's side, he began to work the oil into his friend's tight muscles.

Even though Eric knew that what Adam was doing would actually help his back, it still hurt. He tried to take his mind off of it. "Adam, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's on your mind?" His hands continued to work the upper shoulders of the man beneath him, giving the towels and meds a chance to work before moving lower.

"Umm well...it's about you and Jase. Mind if I ask something personal?"

"Depends on what it is, but go ahead and ask the question."

Eric paused a moment then forged ahead. "Well, you know that Jason and Tommy are alone in another part of the house right now. Given their history...does that bother you?"

"No, why? Does it bother you?"

"Honestly? Yeah, a bit. It doesn't cross your mind?"

"What? That they might start something with each other again?" He sighed softly. "Eric, Tommy and Jason were friends long before they were lovers. They've both been there for each other through some really bad times, but it wasn't enough for them to form a real, concrete relationship on. They tried, but after a while, the two of them realized that they were better off just being friends. Jason and Tommy are like brothers, Eric." He pulled the towel down a bit and started moving a little lower. "And I don't worry about them being alone together because I know that Jason loves me."

"Well, please don't get the idea that I don't trust Tommy...I do. It's just that, well...I wasn't around them years ago like you were. I really only know what Tom's told me and what I've heard. Maybe I'm just a little insecure, I don't know."

"Okay, it's my turn for a personal question."

"Sure, fire away," the Quantum Ranger replied, still trying to keep his mind off the pain in his lower back.

Slowly, Adam began to work deeper on the muscles beneath his hands, loosening them up little by little. "How many long term relationships have you been in besides the ones with Wes and Tommy?"

"A couple of others. One with a girl and one with another guy. They didn't last a terribly long time, though. Why do you ask?"

"I'm getting to that. Why didn't they last? Who broke it off?"

"With the girl, I did. I just wasn't feeling for her what I thought I should be feeling. That's when I pretty much decided that I was gay. With Marc, the guy before Wes, he broke up with me. And you know that Wes and I kinda mutually decided that we were better off as friends-like you said Tommy and Jason did."

"Now, Wes and I have talked a bit. He was worried that things were moving too quick between him and Mike. Blondie told me that sometimes it was hard for you to open up and admit things. Think that might be true"

Eric chuckled. "Yeah, I think there's a good chance that could be the case. What does that have to do with him and Mike though?"

"Because you guys might have ended it as friends Eric, but you still mean a lot to Wes. Just like Jason and Tommy will always mean a lot to each other. But Jason's moved on and we love each other. It's obvious that Mike and Wes are well on their way to developing a good relationship." He grinned. "And everyone agrees that you and Tommy are good for each other."

"I know that he's good for me-don't know if I return the favor though."

"You need to trust yourself more, Eric. Listen to that heart of yours a little more than that thick skull." He thumped the older man's ear. "Tell me, Bossman," he removed the towel and set it down in an empty bowl he'd placed under the other one. "If you had something you wanted to talk to someone about and didn't feel, for whatever reason, that you could talk to Tommy about it, who would you go to?"

"Wes. No doubt about it."

"Wouldn't you be afraid of what Tommy would think? That he'd be jealous? Or what about Mike?"

"Okay, okay, point taken. I thought you were a massage and physical therapist, not a shrink," Eric laughed.

Adam chuckled softly. "Yeah well, being the quiet one of our group, people talk to me and I listen. If I happen to make sense when I offer advice, then it's worth it." He looked down at his patient. "How are you feeling?"

"More relaxed, definitely. The pain in my back is still there, but it's not as bad as it was. You do good work, Captain Park," he said with a smile.

"Yeah well, just remember that when it comes time for a pay raise." As Captains, he and Jason were pretty much at the top. So instead of rank promotions, they would get pay increases. "I'm gonna put this last towel on your back. We'll let that sit on there for about another 10 minutes and then I'll work the area a bit more."

"Okay, sounds good. I really appreciate this, Adam. There's no way I could've driven back to Silver Hills like this."

-o-O-o-

Adam sighed softly and leaned against Jason. "That was really good."

"Thanks, nothing to it really. Did you two get enough to eat?" he asked Tommy and Eric.

Eric nodded. "Oh yeah, and thanks to your boyfriend's talented hands I was able to enjoy it without being overcome with pain."

Adam chuckled. "Glad I was able to help. How's your wrist feeling, Tom?"

Jason looked over at his best friend, waiting for him to answer.

"It's okay right now. The pain killer is helping a lot."

Chuckling softly, the former Red Ranger nodded. "Yeah well, could always be worse." He grinned at the other men. "Something else could have gotten hurt."

"That's true. So what are we gonna do until bedtime?" Adam asked.

"Well, we do have presents to hand out." Jason looked at Adam. "Know anyone that's had a birthday recently?"

Tom's eyes lit up. "Aww man...you guys didn't have to do that," he smiled.

Chuckling softly, the Quantum Ranger shook his head. "Think you guys made his night with that statement."

The Original Red Ranger shrugged before standing up. "We were planning on coming up next weekend to drop them off anyway." He made his way over to Eric. "Why don't I help you to the living room and Adam can go grab the presents?"

"Yeah, that'll be good. Appreciate the help," Eric said. He let Jason help him up and towards the couch. "So what didja get him?" he asked with a grin.

Tommy got up and followed his boyfriend, worriedly watching him make his way along with Jason's help. It was obvious that the man was still in pain.

Shaking his head, Jason tossed a look over his shoulder to see Tommy following them. "Sorry man, if he wasn't so close I'd tell you. It's nothing bad, I promise." After getting Eric settled, the paramedic grabbed a heating pad and put it behind him. "That should help a bit."

Adam ran up stairs to the guest room they were using and grinned as he saw the two brightly wrapped packages sitting on the bed. Where Jason had ever found the wrapping paper, the former Frog didn't know, but it definitely fit the occasion. Grabbing both boxes, he arranged them so that he could see while making his way back down the stairs.

Tommy took a seat on the couch next to his boyfriend. "You alright, Bear?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. This heating pad is starting to feel really good. Thanks, Rex," he said, turning to look at Adam as he came back into the room.

"You're welcome, Commander." Going over to his lover, Jason grabbed the bottom box and looked at Adam. "I'll grab mine if you take yours."

Chuckling softly, the shorter man grinned. "You know, that could be taken in ssssooooo many ways Rexy." Taking the top box, the second black ranger stepped back a bit to let Jason get his clear before heading over to Tommy. "Here you go, Falcon."

"This is really great of you guys," he smiled. "Thank you so much." He took a good look at the wrapping paper and burst out laughing. "Where in the world did you find Power Ranger wrapping paper?" he asked, looking from Adam to Jason.

"You'll have to ask Rex about that one. He brought it home last weekend when Rocky was there and we almost killed the guy." He grinned while Jason blushed. "Our 'bottomless pit' had just taken a bite of a burger when Jase produced the results of his shopping trip. The Apeman choked a bit."

Rolling his eyes, the former Gold Ranger stepped closer and took a seat, keeping hold of his own box. "The boy tried to shove like a quarter of the burger in his mouth at once. I can't help it if he did so at the same time I showed them the paper."

Tom shook his head and laughed. "Well, I think some of it might have to do with the fact that it only has red rangers on it...and the original red ranger at that."

Eric looked it over and rolled his eyes. "Only you, Rex...only you."

Nodding his agreement, Tommy began to carefully remove the paper and open his gift. "Gotta keep this paper," he said with a laugh and then took the top off the box. Inside he saw the book of massage techniques along with the oil and incense that Adam had gotten for him. "Oh, I'll make good use of this," he grinned and showed his partner.

"Most definitely," Eric grinned, taking the bottle from his hand to give the oil a sniff.

The Korean nodded. "Look under that book and the box of oils." He winked over at Jason while they waited.

Tommy grinned and pulled the top items out of the box to reveal a book on meditation techniques. "Very nice. I can so use this," he smiled, showing it to Eric.

"Uh huh," the Quantum Ranger said with a grin. "He comes unhinged way to easily."

"Don't I know it." Jason stated, winking at his former lover before handing over his own box. "Happy Birthday, Tom."

"Thank you," the former White Ranger replied with a smile. "Wow, this is a big box. What did you do?" He started slowly opening the package, a warm smile on his face.

Eric looked up to see Jason anxiously watching Tommy opening the gift. 'Wonder what's in there,' he thought to himself, turning to watch his boyfriend.

The Guardian Captain shrugged. "I figure you'll like it and Eric might like it as well." He grinned. 'Damn, but I can see Tommy modeling that for Eric in nothing but the jacket.'

"Oh?" Tom asked, looking up questioningly at his former lover. "Can't wait to see this," he said, pulling the top off the box. Under the tissue paper was a dark brown leather jacket reminiscent of the one he used to wear back in high school. This one, however, was a little sleeker looking and definitely made of high grade leather. "Oh Jase..." he stammered, looking for the right words.

"I know how much you liked the old one and that having it trashed during an attack really sucked." He grinned. "Then you lost the one that David had gotten to replace it at the bar we all went to after the Red mission. So I figured that since you hadn't gotten around to replacing it yet, that I'd help you along. When I saw this, I knew that you'd love it."

Tommy was turning it over in his hands and taking in the scent of new leather. "This is...wow...you shouldn't have done this," he said, shaking his head. "I gotta try this on," he suddenly announced, getting up and starting to pull on the jacket, forgetting about his wrist brace. "Aww damn...a little help?"

Standing up, Adam moved closer and helped him get the jacket on. "Glad you like it."

"That's a gorgeous jacket, Rex." Eric smiled up at them. _'Can't wait to see Tommy in that…in private.'_

"Thanks," He was watching Adam help his best friend into it and grinned. "And it even fits you really well."

"It's awesome. This is just unreal, Jase," Tom said, still feeling of the leather. "How's it look?" he asked his boyfriend.

"Very, very nice," Eric grinned. "I'll be expecting an exclusive modeling of it later on," he said with a wink. Tommy gave him a quick nod and a warm smile.

For a few moments, it was quiet and then the Original Red broke the silence. "Check the pockets, Tom."

"Hmmm? Okay," the former Ranger Commander said, sliding his hands into the cool, satin-lined pockets. His fingers soon came into contact with what felt like a cord. He looked over at Jason as he pulled it out of the pocket and held it up. "Oh cool...it looks like my old yinyang necklace I used to wear," he said with a grin.

"It actually is, but the cord is new." He grinned at the slightly confused look his friend wore. "When Adam and I were at my parents for Thanksgiving, mom handed me a box of stuff that she thought I'd want from my old room. With the new addition on the house, it's become a guest room and I've got their old room while they've moved downstairs to the new master suite." He nodded at the necklace. "That was in the box, but the cord had broken. So I fixed it and figured it would be a good addition to the jacket."

"You mean this is the actual one? From high school?" Tom asked, his eyes opening wide.

"The one that you lost that night at my place before I left for the Peace Conference."

Nodding, Jason knew he'd done the right thing. "I found it shortly after I took the Gold powers, but kept forgetting to give it to you."

"Oh my god, I don't believe it." He turned to Eric. "I used to wear this thing religiously. Never thought I'd see it again." He moved over to Jason and wrapped his arms around the man. "Thank you so much, Rex." He latched on tight to his best friend like he had no intention of letting go any time soon.

"I know how much it meant to you and even though it took a while, I figured you deserved to have it back." He returned the hug, inhaling deeply of the mingled scents of his ex-lover and the leather jacket. "Happy Birthday, bro."

Eric watched them closely. He was smiling on the outside-happy that Tommy had gotten such great gifts from two of his oldest friends, but on the inside he was feeling a bit jealous. Glancing over at Adam, he noticed that the former Green Zeo Ranger seemed perfectly happy with the situation.

Adam watched the pair for a moment and then looked over at his boss. 'Damn man, wonder what Eric thinks about this, especially after our talk earlier? I'll talk to Jason about it later.' Chuckling softly, he walked over to the two of them and put an arm around each of them. "Hey, can't I get in on this? I mean, Eric and I are out here, all by our lonesomes."

"Aw, come here Froggy." Taking one arm off of Tom, Jason pulled his lover into the hug. "Can't have you left out in the cold now." He laughed softly and laid a light kiss on Adam's lips.

Tom chuckled and hugged Adam as well, but then thought about his own partner sitting there alone. "We need to take this hug to Sarge over there," he said quietly, turning and smiling at their target.

Eric had been watching the group hug from his place on the couch. He would never tell them, but part of him wished that showing emotion like that was as easy for him as it seemed to be for his friends and his lover. When he saw them moving toward him with smiles on their faces, he made a characteristically 'Eric' remark. "Oh no...don't come over here with that."

Adam grinned. "Aw, come on Commander. You know that you want to be part of this and I'm an equal opportunity hugger."

"Awww, Bear... you know you want a big hug too," Tom said with a warm smile, sitting down on the couch and putting his arms carefully around his lover.

Eric rolled his eyes but accepted the hug from Tommy, looking up suspiciously at Adam and Jason. "What's on your mind?" he asked Jason.

The paramedic grinned as he wrapped all three of them into a massive hug. "Just trying to figure out which way to do this without hurting you."

Tommy, who was the closest to Eric's face, saw the genuine smile that started and slowly grew. He knew that his boyfriend had a loving, gentle side but that it usually remained hidden from everyone but a very few.

Jason was quiet and then he got a wicked grin on his face. Leaning in, he placed a light kiss on Eric's cheek. "Feeling better Commander?" The words were practically whispered in the Quantum Ranger's ear.

Eric's eyes opened a little wider and after a couple of moments, he started laughing. "The Captain over here is buckin' for a raise, I think," he said in the direction of Tommy and Adam.

Shaking his head, Adam grinned. "That'd be our Rex." Chuckling softly, he leaned in and kissed the other cheek. As he pulled back, the Asian shrugged. "Couldn't let the other cheek be left out."

Tom watched as Eric did something that the Quantum Ranger rarely did-he blushed. "Awwww..." he said, but decided not to embarrass his boyfriend any more. He leaned in and kissed him on the lips, completing the trifecta.

-o-O-o-

Jason grinned a bit as Adam shuffled into the kitchen. He stopped stirring the eggs he had in a bowl and wrapped his arms around the other man. "Morning sleepyhead."

"Mornin'. Whatcha makin'?" he asked drowsily.

"Figured some scrambled eggs with cheese and diced ham, bacon, hash browns, and toast." He gave his lover a soft kiss. "There's coffee going."

"Mmmmm...smells good," he mumbled while he scratched. "Have you heard anything out of them yet? I wonder how Eric slept."

"Haven't heard anything yet. I checked on them about 2 when I got up to go to the bathroom and they seemed okay. Guess the muscle relaxer and pain killer combined helped."

"Good. Think you'll have to hog tie the Commander to get him to the doctor? If he needs to go, that is." Adam held up the coffee pot, silently asking if Jason wanted a cup.

Jason nodded his head to Adam's unspoken question as he turned back to the cooking potatoes. "I think he'll go easily enough, especially if he's still hurting by the time he needs to go.

"He seemed really tight yesterday, but a couple of days rest with the meds will probably help that. How was Tommy's wrist?"

"Really swollen. That's why I made him find that sling yesterday. Hopefully keeping it elevated will help the swelling go down. Otherwise, it's gonna start hurting him worse."

Adam sipped his coffee with a bemused look. "I know it's not funny...I mean, they're both in pain, but...who else but those two would have something like this happen?"

A soft chuckle came from the former Gold Ranger as he shook his head. "Maybe Rocky, but that's about the only other one I can think of." He took a long pull from his coffee.

"Need some help with all of that?" the shorter man asked, watching his lover with interest.

"I've got this, but if you can start making the toast, I'd appreciate it."

"Sure-glad to," he remarked. Putting down his coffee mug, he pulled the loaf of bread from the fridge and started getting it ready. "Had an interesting conversation with Eric yesterday while I was working on his back. I was gonna tell you about it last night, but I fell asleep before I could."

"Oh? What'd you two talk about?" He chuckled. "Considering it's hard to get Eric to string more than ten words together at times."

"Well...he wanted to know if it made me jealous for you and Tommy to be off by yourselves like you were last night," he replied, purposely not giving any more detail. He wanted to gauge Jason's reaction.

The paramedic sighed. "Adam, you know that you have nothing to worry about when it comes to me and Tommy right? We're just good friends, almost brothers." He turned to look at his partner. "You're the one that I love. Yes, Tommy and I will always be close, but I don't care for him like that anymore."

Adam met his gaze. "I know and that's pretty much what I told Eric. But...it would seem that 'big man Myers' is a bit insecure when it comes to you." Adam understood where Eric was coming from too. Tommy and Jason knew each other inside and out-they'd been best friends for years and their stint as lovers only added to their closeness. However, he was sure that that episode in their lives was behind them and that he had nothing to worry about when it came to the two friends being alone.

Sighing softly, Jason moved over to Adam for a moment and slipped his arms around him. "Think it'd help if I talked to Eric?"

"Yeah, it might. Just be careful not to put him on the defensive. You know how he is-he'll shut down on you."

"I know. After breakfast I'll look him over again. I can talk to him then." He kissed Adam on the cheek, and then turned his attention back to the stove.

The smell of food cooking and coffee brewing wafted through the house and eventually made its way to Tommy's bedroom. Waking slowly, the former Ranger Commander sniffed the air and gave a lazy smile. _'Nice to have houseguests that cook for ya,'_ he thought.

Eric sighed softly, but didn't wake further when his lover's hand started gently carding through his hair. He was comfortable at the moment and didn't want to move just yet.

"Bear? You awake yet? Smells like we've got breakfast waiting on us," Tommy said softly, leaning over and placing a soft kiss on his lover's cheek.

The dark eyes opened slowly and he looked up at his boyfriend without moving too much. "Do we have to get up?"

"Aww, you in pain or just being lazy?" the science teacher asked.

"Not in pain, but then I haven't really tried moving yet." He sighed again. "Just being lazy right now. Don't get much of a chance to do that."

"No, that's true. Neither one of us do. If you wanna stay here, I'll bring it up to you," Tom offered, placing another kiss on Eric's lips.

"I should probably get up. Changing positions a bit might actually help some." He returned the kiss a bit. "Just gonna have to take it slow and easy."

"Yeah, take it slow, okay? I'll help-there's no rush." Tom got out of the bed and walked around to Eric's side, prepared to help his boyfriend in whatever way he could.

Rolling further onto his back, Eric looked up at Tommy. "Help me sit up first. I don't want to have to strain it too much getting that far."

"Alright, let me get a hold of you," he said, leaning over and slipping his arms under Eric's shoulders. When he was in position and had a secure hold on his partner, he asked, "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Letting his boyfriend help, Eric winced a bit once he was finally sitting up. He rested against Tommy's chest. "Let me rest here for a couple of seconds, Falcon."

"Not a problem. Take as long as you need," the former Green Ranger whispered softly, gently rubbing Eric's sore back.

For several minutes, Eric just rested there. Then he took a deep breath and looked up. "Okay, let's try to get me on my feet." He grinned a bit. "Mother Nature's calling."

"Okay, here we go," Tom said, lifting as gently as he could under Eric's arms, trying to keep his injured wrist as safe as possible. It took quite a bit of pulling, but the former Ranger Commander was finally able to get his lover on his feet. "Wow, you're heavy this morning. Must be the effect of the meds."

"Probably a bit of the meds and the fact that I'm kinda of scared to move in any way that'll hurt at the moment."

"Yeah, that's it, I'm sure. You feel like you can walk?"

He nodded. "Let's make for the bathroom first. If I need more help, we can get one of the guys." He reached out and cupped a hand to his lover's cheek. "Don't want you getting hurt worse helping me."

"I'm okay. Let's get you to the bathroom," Tommy said, starting to lead him in the right direction.

Meanwhile downstairs, Jason and Adam were putting the finishing touches on breakfast. "You ready for me to go get the trouble twins?" Adam asked.

Chuckling softly, Jason looked over at him. "Yeah, go ahead and make sure they're up."

"Alright, be right back," the former Black Ranger said, giving his boyfriend a gentle slap on the ass. The big grin on his face lasted until he reached the door of Tommy's bedroom. Knocking softly, he listened for a response but none was forthcoming. "Tommy...Eric? You guys up?" he asked. Still nothing. _'Okay, I'll just have to go in uninvited,'_ he thought, turning the doorknob slowly. Once the door was open, he could see that the bed was vacant. "Tommy? Eric?"

"In the bathroom," Tom called out, having barely heard his friend in the other room.

Adam walked over closer to the bathroom and stood beside the door. "You two okay?"

"Yeah, we're alright. Just stiff and sore-both of us," Tom responded. "Do I smell breakfast?"

"Yeah, seems Jason beat us all up this morning and started cooking. It's ready, so he sent me up to get you guys and see if you needed any help."

"Cool. I may need some help getting Sarge down the steps. My wrist is throbbing pretty badly right now."

"All right, let me know when you two are done and I'll help Eric down the stairs."

Coming out of the bathroom, Eric shuffled along stiffly while being half-held up by Tommy. "Sorry to be such an invalid, Adam. I appreciate the help," he said softly.

"Hey, it's what friends are for Eric, and I'd rather have you get the help you need than try and do it on your own only to end up hurt worse."

Tom nodded in agreement. "Come on Bear, let's get you downstairs. I need some coffee," he grinned.

Eric rolled his eyes, but let the two men help him down the stairs. Once there, he managed to talk them into eating in the living room and they helped him to the couch. "Thanks guys."

Once breakfast was over, Jason looked at Eric. "How about I take a look at your back before you get dressed?"

"Okay, that'll be fine. Think I could get your boyfriend there to give me another massage?" Eric asked with as much of a grin as he could manage.

"I think he could be convinced to help out, but let's see how things are today first." He walked over to the older man. "Need some help getting up?"

"I'm afraid so," he answered, lifting his arms so that the paramedic could take hold of him. "Where do you wanna examine me?"

Jason chuckled softly. "There are so many ways that could be taken." He helped Eric slowly to his feet. "But let's go to the bedroom. We can use the guest room down here if that'll be easier on you."

"Oh haha," Eric said sarcastically. "And yeah, the guest room would be easier. Don't know if I can handle the steps again right now."

"All right." He helped the Commander into the bedroom and then over to the bed. After getting him settled, he put a hand on Eric's shoulder. His bag was already in the room. "Now, I want you to be honest with me Eric, how bad is it hurting you right now?"

Eric groaned. "Well, considering I'm pretty sure that all of the meds you gave me last night are out of my system, I'd say that the pain is about a "6" right now, "7" if I move wrong."

"Okay, well let me take a look first, see how things are and then I can give you something before Adam comes in to work on your back, all right?"

"Sounds good. Am I okay right here? Need me to move?"

"No, you're fine where you're at." He put his hands on Eric's shoulders and started working his way down, gently poking and prodding. "Adam told me you two talked a bit last night."

Eric groaned-he knew exactly what Jason was getting at. "I thought he might've told you. Listen, I wasn't accusing anybody of anything-I want you to know that."

"I know you weren't. Look Eric, I get where you're coming from, I really do, but what I had with Tommy is over. Yeah we'll always be friends, but that's pretty much where my interest in him stops."

"You know...I believe that, I really do. It's just sometimes...I don't know." He stopped talking, not sure what to say next. Eric was not normally one to talk about his feelings and he was feeling uncomfortable.

"Sometimes what your head knows and what your heart is telling you don't match up."

"True," Eric replied simply. His insecurities were not something that he was accustomed to discussing with anyone-let alone Jason.

"You know if things were reversed, I'd feel the same way." He grinned down at Eric. "And if you hurt the man I see as a brother, I might have to hurt you because that's what Tommy is to me now: a brother."

"I won't hurt him, Jase. I'd much sooner cut my own arm off than hurt him." He stopped and sighed. "This is hard for me...ya know." After another pause, the SG Commander finally started talking. "I love him-more than I've ever loved anyone. You don't have to worry about me hurting him. And I'm glad to know you think of him as a brother because that's the way he talks about you."

"Good. You two are good for each other and he's been happier than I've seen him in a long time." He grinned slightly. "Well, except for when you two are apart for too long." As his hands passed over a spot on Eric's lower back, he frowned at the tightness and heat he felt there.

"Well, we're working on fixing the problem of being apart for too long. He's not the only one that's miserable when we have to go too long without seeing each other."

"Oh, we know, trust us." He sat back a bit. "I'm gonna press on a couple of spots and I want you to tell me how bad it hurts in those areas."

"Hang on...what do you mean by 'Oh we know'? Am I that obvious?"

Rolling his eyes, Jason sighed. "Honestly? We tend to avoid making you mad for a couple of days after you get back from visiting Tommy or he's been up to visit you. Those times we go to Wes with stuff. And the last couple of days before you left to go on this trip with Tommy, we were double checking things with Wes after you approved funding for 100 new Hummers instead of 10."

Eric craned his neck around as much as possible. "I what? Oh man...I knew I was preoccupied, but that's...that's ridiculous." He paused to think, shaking his head. "Sorry about that. I'm usually much more together and professional."

"I know. That's why when it came across my desk, I took it to Wes. Look Eric, it's okay. You love Tommy and being apart from him is hard. I know what that's like. When I went to Switzerland, realizing that I was starting to have feelings for him, it was one of the hardest things I'd ever done. It's also the reason why I came back and didn't hesitate when he asked me to take the Gold Ranger powers. Hopefully, he'll take the job with the Guardians and it will all be a moot point." He put a hand on the Commander's shoulder. "For now though, let's work on getting you healthy, for him and you okay?"

"Okay, you're right. Proceed with the check-up."

"Just let me know where the pain is the worst." Carefully he started pressing down on a few of the hot spots he'd found earlier.

Eric groaned a bit and flinched when Jason hit a couple of particularly painful spots. "Yeah, that's it right there. Feels like a huge knot in my back."

"Yeah, feels like that under my hands." Shaking his head, the paramedic sat back. "You really did it to yourself this time. Between you and Mike, we're gonna be kept busy." Reaching into his bag, he drew out a few things. "Now, rate your pain for me again."

"Okay. Do you think I need to see a doctor, Jason? As much as I hate to admit it, I don't know if it's going to heal on its own."

"You might, but I'd honestly prefer it if you saw the docs back at base. They've got a few more options available than a regular one." He was quiet for a moment. "At the same time, I don't think you taking a trip like that would be a good thing right now. Going to see a doc up here would be okay, but I honestly feel that the trip back to Silver Hills would be too much for you."

"Well, I guess I can stay here for a while longer. Tell me, how's Tommy's wrist? He says, 'It's fine' but I know it's not."

"I'll tell you how his wrist really is if you tell me how bad you're hurting right now."

"Right now I'd say it's about a '7' in my lower back. Overall, I'm just stiff and sore."

"All right, I'm gonna give you something for the pain with a bit of muscle relaxer added to it and an anti-inflammatory. That should help all of that." He started drawing up the meds. "Adam can start working on your back after this starts to work. As for Tom's wrist, he does have a slight fracture in it, but the driving yesterday didn't help anything. If it'll ease your mind, I'll take a look at it after I get done with you." Jason quickly injected the meds into Eric's hip, not giving the other man time to think about it.

"It would make me feel better, thanks. Make him rest it, Jase. I feel kinda responsible."

"Aw man, not you too." Shaking his head, the Original Red Ranger put a hand on Eric's shoulder. "Look Eric, trust me when I say that if he hadn't hurt it helping you, then Tommy would have done something himself to end up getting hurt. So it's not your fault."

"Is he really that danger-prone? Seriously?"

A soft chuckle came from the paramedic. "It's not that he's 'danger-prone', but I swear sometimes the man has a sign on his back that says 'Pick me' whenever something bad starts coming around."

"Now _that_ I'll agree with. If it's not picking him, then he's volunteering for it. Such a White Knight..."

"Pretty much, but yeah, if there's trouble around, he'll find it." He grinned. "Think all Reds are kind of like that though and if you look at us, most of us are either in jobs that are high risk or could become that."

"You know, I've thought about that before. You're right-we're trouble magnets. I guess that's why Adam's natural serenity is so attractive to you, huh?"

"Yeah, Adam he just..." Jason shook his head. "He just makes me feel at peace, you know? When I was with Tom, it was always a feeling of what was going to come next or fighting each other for control. We're too much alike in that respect. With Adam, he'll take control sometimes, but for the most part he just makes me feel whole." He shook his head again. "Don't think I'm making much sense."

"You make perfect sense, Jase. And even though Tommy and I both are what some would call Alpha Males, we complete each other as well. At least, that's how I feel anyway."

"From what I've seen, you do. You might be quicker to anger, but at least you'll think things through a bit before jumping into something." He looked down at the other man. "How are you feeling now?"

"A little better. I think the meds are beginning to kick in some. Go take care of Tommy for me, okay?"

"All right. I'll send Adam in to work on your back. Just try to relax and if you start to drift off, don't fight it."

"Alright. Thanks, Jase...for everything," Eric replied.

"You're welcome." Grabbing his bag, he left the room and went into the living room to check on Tommy.

-o-O-o-

While Jason and Eric were in the other room, Tommy and Adam had been doing some talking of their own.

Adam turned to his friend. "You doing okay, Flyboy?"

Tom unconsciously rubbed his wrist. "I'm okay. My forearm is starting to hurt some, but it's not too bad yet. Honestly, I'm more worried about Eric."

"You've got to take care of yourself as well, bro. Otherwise, you're gonna cause Eric to worry and that'll just make him stress-which means his back will bother him more."

"Yeah, I know. I hope you and Jase can help him to feel better soon. He doesn't open up much, but he really does appreciate your help."

The former Frog laughed softly. "Oh, trust me, I'm learning that about our Commander."

Tom shook his head and smiled. "He really is a great guy-you just have to get to know him. It takes time with someone like him."

"Tom, you don't have to try and convince me. I'm happy that you and Eric are together. You're good for each other and both of you are bringing out more in your partner."

"I think so too. You and Jase are great for each other too-for kinda the same reasons," the former Ranger Commander said with a smile.

Adam laughed at that. "I keep Rexy-boy out of trouble. And considering at times he's like a big kid, that can be quite a chore."

"Tell me about it...I remember," Tom laughed. "Of course, I can be trouble too."

"Yeah, I think it's a Red thing. I'd ask Wes about it, but he's almost as big a trouble magnet as you are. If it wasn't for Mike being a former SEAL, I'd worry about Blondie."

"You're probably right about that. Even though I never really wanted to be a Red, it kinda came to me...like it was supposed to happen. We can find trouble, that's for sure."

An eyebrow rose up, almost meeting Adam's hairline. "Tommy, you found trouble before you ever became a Red and it always found you. Once you put on Red, it just seemed to get worse."

"Don't remind me," Tom said, shaking his head. "It still does."

"Oh, I know it does, but what happened this weekend isn't anyone's fault. If it wasn't helping Eric that got you hurt, then you'd have done something else and ended up the same way. We both know that."

"I really am that bad, aren't I? It's a wonder I lived through having all those different powers."

"No, that's what your friends and team mates were and are for-to help you when you need it."

"I know and I do appreciate you all. Don't know where I'd be without you." He stopped and gathered his thoughts. "Me and Jase even managed to stay friends after we decided that the relationship wasn't working. A lotta people can't do that."

"That's because you were friends first, Falcon. You not being able to count on Jason would be like me being unable to count on Rocky when I really need him: It's not gonna happen."

"That's true. I wonder sometimes if Eric isn't secretly more suspicious of me and Jase than he lets on. I know he's somewhat jealous of him, but that's ridiculous."

"He's insecure, Tom." Quietly, he told him about the conversation he had with Eric the night before. "I talked with Jase about it and he was gonna talk with him."

"Good. Maybe Rex can talk some sense into his head."

-o-O-o-

A couple of hours after laying down for a nap with his partner, Tommy woke slowly and looked over at Eric. _'Hope you're feeling better,'_ he thought, reaching over and lightly stroking the man's cheek.

Sighing softly, Eric turned into the soft touch before opening his eyes to look at his lover. "Hey you."

Tom was a bit surprised, but recovered quickly. "Hey Bear, I thought you were still asleep. How're you feeling?" he asked gently.

"Was for a bit, but I've been laying here resting for a few minutes now." Moving carefully, he rolled over a bit while shooting Tom a grin. "Pretty good actually." He closed the distance between them and placed a soft kiss on the warm lips of the man he loved. "Love you."

"Mmmm...love you too. Glad you're doing better. Adam has some magic hands, huh?" he said with a grin.

The Guardian Commander chuckled softly. "That he does and I'll be keeping that in mind when it comes time for his next raise."

"I'm sure he'll be glad to hear tha-..." he started but was interrupted by a loud "thunk" and a burst of laughter coming from the direction of the kitchen. "What the hell...?" he mumbled.

The Quantum Ranger snorted. "There's no telling, but we should probably go make sure they're both okay."

"Yeah, you're probably right," he said, hearing the laughter again. "That's Adam. What the hell are they up to?" Tommy got up and moved around the bed to help Eric get himself upright. Once that was accomplished, they slowly headed toward the kitchen.

Jason ignored his lover, who was on the floor laughing at him as slid across the floor wearing socks, boxers, and an apron. In his hand, he held a wooden spoon that was serving as his microphone and after turning around, he looked down at Adam before starting to sing. "I can't get no satisfaction, I can't get no satisfaction. Cause I try and I try and I try and I try. I can't get no, I can't get no..."

Tommy and Eric stopped in the doorway to the kitchen and just watched for a few moments before either said anything. "Oh lord...Jase is doing his Tom Cruise impression..." the former White Ranger finally said with a chuckle.

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Are they drunk?"

Adam started wolf whistling and had found a lighter somewhere because it was now lit as he waved it back and forth. "Go Rexy!"

Tommy laughed again. "No, they're just goofy as hell. They get this way sometimes," he told his boyfriend. Tom then added his whistle to Adam's. "Sing it, bro!" he called and then laughed again.

Looking at them, the Original Red Ranger shot them a grin before going back to his song. "When I'm ridin' round the world/ And I'm doing this and I'm signin' that/ And I'm tryin' to meet some guy, who tells me/ Baby, better come back maybe next week/ Cause you see I'm on a losing streak/ I can't get no. Oh, no, no, no. Hey, hey, hey/ That's what I say. I can't get no, I can't get no/ I can't get no satisfaction, no satisfaction/ No satisfaction, no satisfaction."

-o-O-o-


End file.
